ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

British/Spanish Fishing Fleets

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the size of the (a) British and (b) Spanish fishing fleet (i) is and (ii) was in 1997; and what estimate she has made of the size of each fleet in 2006.

Ben Bradshaw: The information available is given in the table. No estimate has been made of the anticipated size of the UK fleet in 2006, and an estimate for the Spanish fleet is also not available.
	
		
			  Number of vessels Gross tonnage (tonnes) 3 Engine power (Kw) 
		
		
			 UK fleet 1:
			 As at 31 December 1996 8,667 274,532 1,054,927 
			 As at 31 December 2003 7,271 234,037 918,258 
			 Spanish fleet 2:
			 As at 31 December 1996 18,244 603,249 1,537,453 
			 As at 31 December 2003 14,579 489,002 1,200,712 
		
	
	(1) Data for the UK fishing fleet incorporate estimates for the fleets of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
	(2) Analysis of EC Fishing Vessel Register data provided by EUROSTAT.
	(3) Tonnage data for the UK fleet incorporate the effect of the remeasurement of vessels onto a Gross Tonnage basis from other methodologies.

Departmental Costs

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of refurbishments to the fabric of the Department's buildings in each year since May 1997.

Alun Michael: Expenditure on fabric refurbishment each year since the Department's creation in 2001 was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–2002 850,000 
			 2002–2003 3,525,000 
			 2003–2004 2,464,799

Diagnostic Techniques and Equipment

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she is taking to reverse the amendments to EU Regulation 1774–2002 which prevent the import of by-products for use in development of diagnostic techniques and equipment.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government fully supports the intention of EU Regulation 1774–2002 to provide effective control on the use and importation of animal by-products. However, we recognise that in the case of certain products of particular importance to the development of diagnostic techniques and equipment, the rules on import may not be fully justified by the risk to animal or public health presented by the products.
	Following a meeting with industry representatives on 1 July, we have written to the European Commission asking them to reconsider the application of the current import requirements to these products. Officials attending the meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on 14 July will also raise the issue.
	We are keeping industry contacts informed of progress.

English Nature

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for judicial review were made against English Nature in the High Court in each year between 1997 and 2003 by (a) individuals, (b) non-governmental organisations and (c) corporate entities.

Ben Bradshaw: There were no applications for judicial review made against English Nature between 1997 and 2000. Details of applications made between 2001 and 2003 are as follows:
	
		
			  Individuals Non-governmental organisations Corporate entities 
		
		
			 High court
			 2001 1 None (4)1 
			 2002 1 None None 
			 2003 None None (4)1 
		
	
	(4) English Nature were co-defendants with the Secretary of State

English Nature

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many judicial reviews brought against English Nature in the (a) High Court and (b) Court of Appeal between 1997 and 2003 (i) were successful and (ii) resulted in an order for costs being made against the applicant; and what costs were awarded in each case.

Ben Bradshaw: English Nature has been successful in all proceedings brought between 1997 and 2003. Details are as follows:
	One application for Judicial Review was made to the High Court, against English Nature, by an individual (2001). This was unsuccessful and no costs were awarded against that individual.
	One Judicial Review heard by the High Court, brought by a company against English Nature as co-defendant with the Secretary of State, was successfully defended (2001). English Nature were awarded £117,500 (inc VAT) for their part of the costs. There was no appeal made to the Court of Appeal.
	Two further cases have been heard in the High Court:
	One was brought by an individual against English Nature. The action was successfully defended. However the individual concerned appealed to the Court of Appeal. The appeal was granted in 2003, but the case was not heard until 2004. English Nature won that case. English Nature incurred costs of £250,000 (ex VAT). In reaching its decision the Court awarded costs to English Nature. It is still possible for the aggrieved to petition the House of Lords.
	The other was brought by a company against the Secretary of State and English Nature in 2003. The action was successfully defended. The company concerned has now appealed to the Court of Appeal and the case will be heard later this year. Costs are, therefore, still accruing and the outcome of the case will determine the costs issue.

Fishing Families

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to assist fishing families suffering hardship.

Ben Bradshaw: We have taken substantial measures in recent years to address the issues facing those affected by the state of the fishing industry. £85 million of grant has been available to the UK industry in 2001–04 under the Structural Funds programme plus further amounts for specific schemes in various parts of the UK. This has included funds to promote increased competitiveness in the industry and enable vessel owners to leave the industry by decommissioning their vessels.
	The Prime Minister commissioned his Strategy Unit to recommend action to create a stable future both for the industry and for the communities which depend upon it. We are now preparing to draw up an action plan with stakeholders to take forward the recommendations in the Unit's report "Net Benefits: A sustainable and profitable future for UK fishing".
	Regional Development Agencies, local Business Links, Learning and Skills Councils and Job Centre Plus provide expert support to communities affected by the depletion of fish stocks.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible have been (a) established and (b) abolished since 1997.

Alun Michael: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was established in June 2001, at which time Defra was responsible for 57 NDPBs 1 . Since then the number of NDPBs established and abolished are as follows:
	
		
			  NDPBs established NDPBs abolished 
		
		
			 June 2001–March 2002(6) 1 3 
			 April 2002–March 2003 2 2 
			 April 2003–March 2004 3 3 
		
	
	(5) Number includes 2 public corporations
	(6) These figures are sourced from "Public Bodies". In "Public Bodies 2001" a DTI sponsored NDPB was included in Defra's return and our two public corporations were listed as an Executive NDPB and a Nationalised Industry. These were printer's errors and the figures above are correct even though they do not directly correlate with "Public Bodies".

Rural Proofing

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she proposes to strengthen rural proofing at regional level.

Alun Michael: The application of rural proofing principles at all levels of government, both in policy formulation and delivery, makes an essential contribution to our aim of building sustainable rural communities. The rural teams in all the non-London Government Offices play a leading role, as the latest Countryside Agency's Rural Proofing Report makes clear and will continue to bring rural proofing into all major policy workstreams at regional and sub-regional levels, including those of the Regional Development Agencies. Joint publications by the Regional Development Agencies show how they are approaching their work with a clear focus on Sustainable Development.
	The Regional White Paper 'Your Region, Your Choice' makes rural policy one of the functions of the proposed Elected Regional Assemblies, and Regional Housing Boards are required to rural proof their policies.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many hospitals there are in Iraq; and at what capacity they are running.

Hilary Benn: According to the May 2004 Iraq Humanitarian Assistance Report, there are 240 hospitals and 1,200 primary health care clinics employing over 100,000 health workers. There are no statistics available showing what capacity these hospitals are running at. Preliminary indicators that are available show a doctor to population ratio at five per 10,000, which is satisfactory, but a severe shortage of nurses with only an estimated total of 12,000 active in the health sector.
	There are many challenges facing the health sector in Iraq. DFID's main support to date has been to help ensure that the Ministry of Health can call on expertise to help them restore essential services. DFID has provided £5 million to the World Health Organisation to enable them to work with the Iraqis on these issues. Additional DFID support is being channelled through the multi-donor World Bank and United Nations trust funds, to which DFID has made an initial contribution of £70 million.

EU Development Spending

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what percentage of the UK aid budget was committed to EU development spending in each year since 1990.

Hilary Benn: The following table provides the information from financial year 1990–91 to 2002–03, the latest year for which figures are available.
	
		Percentage of UK aid budget to the European Commission (EC) -- £ million
		
			  European Commission EC percentage of total DFID programme 
		
		
			 1990–91 317 19 
			 1991–92 413 21 
			 1992–93 464 22 
			 1993–94 516 23 
			 1994–95 599 26 
			 1995–96 677 30 
			 1996–97 620 29 
			 1997–98 543 26 
			 1998–99 735 31 
			 1999–2000 739 29 
			 2000–01 700 25 
			 2001–02 724 25 
			 2002–03 851 26 
		
	
	Source:
	Statistics on International Development. Prepared by: SRSG 14/07/04.

International Aid (UN Target)

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list those countries which meet the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross domestic product on international aid; if he will list those countries which have set a date by which they will do so; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Countries that already meet the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross national income on official development assistance are:
	Denmark
	Luxembourg
	Netherlands
	Norway
	Sweden
	Other countries that have set a date by which they will reach the 0.7 per cent. target are:
	Belgium
	Finland
	France
	Ireland
	Spain
	On Monday 12 July, as part of the 2004 Spending Review, the Chancellor announced that UK ODA would reach nearly £6.5 billion a year by 2007–08. Total UK ODA as a proportion of GNI will rise from 0.34 per cent. (provisionally) in 2003 to 0.39 per cent. next year, 0.42 per cent. in 2006–07 and to 0.47 per cent. in 2007–08. The Government wishes to maintain these rates of growth in the overseas aid ratio which on this timetable would rise beyond 0.5 per cent. after 2008 and reach 0.7 per cent. by 2013.
	The Chancellor's proposal to establish the International Financing Facility provides an additional means of significantly increasing investment in international development to address the funding gap. If the International Finance Facility (IFF) succeeds, total UK aid flows based on estimated disbursements from the IFF, excluding the debt service elements, could achieve the equivalent of 0.7 per cent. ODA/GNI earlier, by 2008–09.

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

Hilary Benn: The figures reflect domestic and overseas travel. All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in DFID's staff handbook, which reflects the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code. Figures for earlier years are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Figures for travel costs within administration costs budgets for years for which information is readily available are as follows.
	
		£
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2001–02 2,358,000 
			 2002–03 2,645,000 
		
	
	In 2003–04 DFID introduced new procedures to capture administration costs, which had previously been recorded on the programme budget. This included travel expenditure, previously incurred by overseas offices, which constitutes the bulk of official travel. These changes will increase transparency and enable DFID to manage administrative costs more effectively, but means that 2003–04 figures are not comparable with earlier years.
	
		£
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2003–04(7) 10,715,000 
		
	
	(7) Provisional

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Affordable Housing

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to meet regional planning guidance targets for affordable housing provision in the South West; and why the Housing Corporation is planning to fund fewer new homes per year for 2004 to 2006 in the South West than the 2001 Regional Planning Guidance target.

Keith Hill: The policy of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister—as set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG3)—is not to set region-wide targets or quotas for affordable housing. Targets are more appropriately set at the local level as they are, necessarily, derived from local circumstances and assessments. The figures set out in Regional Planning Guidance for the South West (RPG10) are, therefore, not a target but an indicator against which the provision of affordable housing can be monitored. Although better quality information than currently available is needed to assess how we are progressing against this indicator, we do know that we are not yet providing sufficient affordable homes. That is why the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has accepted Kate Barker's recommendation that there should be a step-change in housing supply. Over the coming months, we will be consulting on a package of proposals designed to achieve this, including the provision of independent advice to the Regions, which should improve significantly our ability to deliver and monitor the provision of affordable homes.
	The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is also committing more resources to the delivery of affordable homes—the 2004 Spending Review will allow us to increase new social house building by 50 per cent. The Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme (ADP) for the financial years 2004–05 and 2005–06 is worth £188.2 million and will deliver approximately 6,000 affordable homes in the South West. However, the ADP is not the only means available to deliver affordable housing. The planning system also provides local authorities with other tools to deliver affordable homes.
	PPG3 requires that Local Planning authorities should plan to meet the housing requirements of the whole community, including those in need of affordable and special needs housing. The provision of affordable housing is a local authority responsibility and should be made on the basis of robust local assessments of needs. Where need is clearly demonstrated for affordable housing, this should be taken into account in formulating development plan policies and in deciding planning applications involving housing.

Coalfield Enterprise Fund

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress is being made in the take-up of the Coalfield Enterprise Fund, with particular reference to south Yorkshire.

Phil Hope: The Coalfields Enterprise Fund is a venture capital fund aimed at investing in small and medium-sized companies with growth potential in the former coalfields. The Deputy Prime Minster announced the Fund on 26 March this year.
	The fund manager has embarked upon a comprehensive marketing and promotional programme to establish the fund across the former coalfield areas including south Yorkshire.
	As at the 13 July 2004 the Fund Manager had received a total of 27 applications for investment, of which 12 are in the former Yorkshire coalfield areas. Of these, four have been rejected as not fulfilling the Fund's investment criteria and eight are receiving further consideration.

Councillors' Allowances (London)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total amount paid in allowances to councillors was in each of the London boroughs in 2003–04.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The setting of local allowance levels is a matter for each local authority, taking into account its local circumstances and the views of its independent remuneration panel.

House Prices (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the percentage change in house prices in Portsmouth was in each of the last five years.

Keith Hill: The annual percentage change in residential property prices in Portsmouth for each of the last five years is tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Average price (all dwellings) (£) Percentage change over previous year 
		
		
			 1999 71,185 +8.9 
			 2000 185 85 +20.0 
			 2001 95.911 +12.3 
			 2002 117.161 +22.2 
			 2003 137,435 +17.3 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures exclude any transactions believed to be below market value;
	2. Over the period 1999–2003 the average number of property sales included in the figures was about 5,400 per annum.
	Source:
	Land Registry

Housing (Right to Buy)

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will make an assessment of the success of the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendment) Order 2003.

Keith Hill: Reliable information on the effect of the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendment) Order 2003 on Right to Buy sales is not yet available. Many sales in 2003–04 resulted from applications made by tenants before the order came into effect on 27 March 2003. The Government are keeping the question of maximum Right to Buy discounts under review.

Housing (Right to Buy)

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to expand into new areas the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendment) Order 2003.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to lower the maximum discount available to tenants under the Right to Buy scheme in any other areas, but we are keeping the question under review.

Housing (Right to Buy)

David Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received on the Housing (Right to Buy) (Limits on Discount) (Amendment) Order 2003.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received a number of representations on this order, from individual tenants, social landlords, and other organisations. Some have criticised the Government's decision to lower the maximum amount of discount available to tenants under the Right to Buy scheme in 41 areas under the greatest housing pressure, while others have supported it.

Housing Investment

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Treasury on boosting affordable housing investment in the South West in the Comprehensive Spending Review 2004.

Keith Hill: I refer my hon. Friend to the Deputy Prime Minister's statement to the House on 13 July. By 2008, we will have more than doubled spending on new affordable housing in England since 1997, reaching £2.25 billion in 2008. This will be funded through direct investment, the private finance initiative programme and efficiencies in procurement.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be looking carefully at how the funds for direct investment, including the additional funding for 2006–07 and 2007–08 for high demand areas, are split between regions. This needs to reflect the pattern of needs between regions and the Government's national priorities and targets. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is looking to complete this work by the end of the year.

Housing

Llew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much additional brownfield land he expects to be used for home building as a result of his announcement of 13 July.

Keith Hill: Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: "Housing" sets a national target that by 2008, 60 per cent. of additional housing should be provided on previously-developed land and through conversions of existing, buildings. In the Spending Review statement published in the House on 12 July 2004, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the 60 per cent. target. The provisional estimate for 2003 is 66 per cent.

Housing

Tony Clarke: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many lettings have been made by (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations in Northampton in each of the last five years, broken down by category.

Keith Hill: Information on the number of lettings to new tenants made by local authorities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in the Northampton area, broken down by category excluding any transfers and mutual exchanges, is tabled as follows:
	
		Number of local authority new lettings made in Northampton area
		
			 Type of tenancy 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 1 
		
		
			 New secure 1,316 1,186 1,295 1,218 1,080 — 
			 Introductory 0 0 0 0 0 — 
			 Other (e.g. licence) 12 14 13 8 2 — 
			 Total 1,328 1,200 1,308 1,226 1,082 — 
		
	
	(8) Data not yet available for 2003–04.
	
		Number of RSL new lettings made in Northampton area
		
			 Type of tenancy 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Fair rent (incl. secure) 1 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Assured 222 184 239 208 176 192 
			 Other 41 13 13 5 9 1 
			 Assured shorthold 11 15 0 0 0 0 
			 Licence agreement 1 8 25 3 0 0 
			 Starter tenancy 0 0 2 14 12 23 
			 Total 276 221 279 230 197 216 
		
	
	Source:
	ODPM's Housing Investment Programme returns and Housing Corporations CORE return

Housing Waiting Lists

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the reasons for the change in housing waiting lists in the South West Region in the last year; and how he intends to reduce the waiting lists.

Keith Hill: Social housing waiting lists and the reasons for changes in them are a key part of the evidence considered by local housing authorities while carrying out assessments of local housing need. These assessments are used by the authorities in developing their housing strategies and should also influence local planning policies for the provision of affordable housing.
	The provision of new affordable housing is the number one priority of the South West Housing Body who will be investing £188 million in the financial years 2004–05 and 2005–06 to deliver approximately 6,000 affordable homes within the South West.

Key Workers (Housing)

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many key workers have received (a) equity loans, (b) higher value loans, (c) help with shared ownership and (d) help with intermediate renting in (i) each scheme zone and (ii) each English region from the Key Worker Living scheme, broken down by key worker group.

Keith Hill: The following table sets out details of the equity loans paid under the Key Worker Living (KWL) scheme between it going live on 1 April and the end of June. No transactions involving higher value equity loans have been finalised at this stage. The shared ownership and intermediate renting schemes available through KWL are on newly built properties and will be coming on stream gradually during the life of the programme.
	
		
			   Key worker group 
			 Zone Region NHS Teacher Police Other 
		
		
			 Essex East 2 2 1 — 
			 South East Consortium South East 18 25 3 (9)1 
			 East London London 2 — 1 — 
			 North London London 2 — 1 — 
			 South East London London 5 2 3 — 
			 South West London London — — 1 — 
			 West London London 1 1 1 — 
			 Total  30 30 11 1 
		
	
	(9) Social worker.

Key Workers (Housing)

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) budget, (b) funding from his Department and (c) funding from other Government Departments is for the Key Worker Living scheme in the current financial year.

Keith Hill: £690 million (including Zone Agent administration costs) will be spent through Key Worker Living, of which around £25 million is being contributed by participating employers. Discussions are also ongoing with employers and other Government Departments about additional land contributions and access to accommodation on the NHS Estate.

Key Workers (Housing)

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on (i) administration and (ii) consultants' fees by each of the zone agents in the Key Worker Living scheme.

Keith Hill: Four products are available under the Key Worker Living programme: market purchase 'Homebuy'; new build 'Homebuy'; new build shared ownership and, intermediate renting at subsidised levels. NHS owned units are also being made available more widely. The zone agents (ZAs) act as a one-stop shop by providing information for all such schemes as well as administering market purchase (MP) Homebuy. The ZA administration cost for each completed MP Homebuy case is expected to average £2,218.
	Although directly linked to market purchase Homebuy, the fee covers on-costs incurred by zone agents e.g. consultancy, to operate the full one stop shop service, including directing key workers to new build schemes and rental accommodation.

Landfill (Expansion Areas)

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what consultation there is between his Department and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on landfill in expansion areas.

Keith Hill: There is close working across Government Departments on matters relating to the growth areas, including on the sustainable management of waste.

Landfill (Expansion Areas)

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps the Government will be taking to ensure the Review of Old Mineral Permissions is not used to co-locate landfill with development of 4,500 homes at the Wixams, formerly Elstow Garden Villages in Bedfordshire.

Keith Hill: Mineral planning authorities are required, under provisions in the Environment Act 1995, to undertake initial and periodic reviews of old mineral planning permissions in order to secure improved environmental and operating standards at mineral sites.
	It is understood that Bedfordshire county council is currently considering an application for new planning conditions to apply to the restoration of former mineral workings at Elstow South. The hon. Member should make his views on the application known to the authority if he has not already done so.

Local Authorities' Performance Indicators

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place the unaudited data from the Best Value User Satisfaction Surveys 2003–04: General Survey Initial Topline Report for the 14 best value performance indicators for each of the 377 authorities available in the Library.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her previous question on 12 July 2004, Official Report, column 868W.

National Housing Federation

James Gray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the National Housing Federation's booklet The Evidence Update; and if he will take account of it in making future housing investment decisions about the South West region.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister welcomes the work that the National Housing Federation (NHF) have done for their recent reports on housing needs in the, South East and South West. The general picture on housing pressures and the affordability of home ownership is in line with our analysis which under-pinned discussions of funding for affordable housing in the 2004 Spending Review. Officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be meeting with the NHF shortly to discuss these reports.
	The NHF South West is represented on the South West Housing Body Steering Group and as such they will play a key role in the development of the region's new Regional Housing Strategy (RHS) due for publication in early 2005. The RHS will reflect all relevant evidence from a variety of sources and will form the basis for the Housing Body's recommendations to Ministers on the distribution of housing resources within the region.

Regional Government (West Midlands)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will hold public meetings in Herefordshire to discuss proposals for a West Midlands Regional Assembly.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Ministers soundings about the interest in holding a referendum on whether to establish an elected regional assembly showed that the level of interest in the West Midlands is low. We therefore have no proposals to hold a referendum in the West Midlands during this Parliament and see no merit in holding public meetings in Herefordshire.

Social Housing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) affordable homes and (b) homes for rent have been built in Portsmouth in each of the last five years.

Keith Hill: Figures for affordable homes built and homes for rent built are not available centrally.
	Based on data reported by Portsmouth council and the National House-Building Council, the number of registered social landlord and council dwellings that have been built within Portsmouth in the last five financial years are as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1999–2000 37 
			 2000–01 92 
			 2001–02 76 
			 2002–03 88 
			 2003–04 78

Social Housing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many lettings have been made by (a) the local authority and (b) housing associations in Portsmouth in each of the last five years, broken down by category.

Keith Hill: Information on the number of lettings to new tenants made by Portsmouth city council, and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in the Portsmouth area; broken down by category excluding any transfers and mutual exchanges, is tabled as follows:
	
		Number of local authority new lettings made by Portsmouth CC 1
		
			 Type of tenancy 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2 
		
		
			 New secure 1,131 1,159 988 947 853 — 
			 Introductory 0 0 0 0 0 — 
			 Other (e.g. licence) 0 0 0 0 0 — 
			 Total 1,131 1,159 988 947 853 — 
		
	
	(10) These figures include any lettings made to the 5,300 dwellings that Portsmouth CC own in Havant.
	(11) Data not yet available for 2003–04
	
		Number of RSL new lettings made in Portsmouth area
		
			 Type of tenancy 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Fair rent (incl. secure) 5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Assured 264 251 240 251 213 136 
			 Other 0 2 38 5 6 9 
			 Assured shorthold 31 34 0 0 0 0 
			 Licence agreement 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Starter tenancy 0 0 2 3 8 16 
			 Total 300 287 280 259 227 161 
		
	
	Source:
	ODPM's Housing Investment Programme returns and Housing Corporations CORE return

TRANSPORT

A21 Upgrade

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact on local communities of the delays in announcing his preferred route for the upgraded A21 at Hurst Green.

David Jamieson: holding answer 16 July 2004
	No assessment has been made of the impact of delay in the announcement. I am aware of the local concern over the delays however, this section of the A21 is particularly sensitive and I have asked for further advice from the Highways Agency. When I have received their report I will make an announcement.

A21 Upgrade

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce his preferred route for the A21 at Hurst Green.

David Jamieson: holding answer 16 July 2004
	I have asked the Highways Agency to carry out further work on this scheme including a review of alignment, road standard and value for money. When I receive their report later this summer I will make an announcement.

Airport Security Act 1982

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in place for the resolution of disputes between police forces and airports designated under the Airport Security Act 1982 regarding the costs to be included within the re-charge arrangements.

Tony McNulty: Section 26(3) of the Aviation Security Act 1982 states that this is a matter for agreement between the manager of the designated airport and the police authority in question. Failing agreement, the Secretary of State for Transport will arbitrate. Following Sir John Wheeler's review of Aviation Security, this system is being reviewed with a view to making appropriate use of the Multi-Agency Threat and Risk Assessments (MATRAs) currently being undertaken at airports as a basis for agreement and, where necessary, arbitration.

Airports

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will issue guidance to airport operators regarding the airport master plan referred to in paragraph 8.38 of the White Paper, The Future of Air Transport.

Tony McNulty: Guidance on the Preparation of Airport Master Plans was published jointly by the Department for Transport, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland on 12 July. Copies have been placed in the House Library and can also be downloaded from the DfT website www.dft.gsi.gov.uk.

Congestion Charges

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the health impact of the implementation of traffic congestion charges in cities where there is experience of their operation.

David Jamieson: The Mayor of London introduced a scheme to reduce congestion in central London in February 2003. Early indications suggest that congestion charging has resulted in a significant reduction in road traffic in central London. The First Annual Monitoring Report by Transport for London (TfL) considered the direct effect of the congestion charge on air quality would be relatively modest. TfL's Second Annual Report estimated small decreases in both PM 1 0 particles and nitrogen oxides in the charging zone. It is too early, however, to assess fully the air quality changes and thus to calculate the implied impact on health. GLA/TfL estimated that congestion charging would result in between 150 and 250 fewer reported accidents, involving injury, per year within Greater London. TfL's Second Annual Report highlighted that the recent pattern of decreasing levels of accidents within the charging zone is continuing, and there is no evidence of detrimental change in road traffic accidents within or around the zone.

Dangerous Goods (Safety)

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department (a) has put in place and (b) plans to put in place regarding the implementation of the Dangerous Goods Safety Advisors scheme throughout the transport industry.

David Jamieson: The requirement for the appointment of Dangerous Goods Safety Advisers stemmed from EU Directives 96/35/EC (June 1996) and 2000/18/EC (April 2000). Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 257 implemented the requirement into national legislation—The Transport of Dangerous Goods (Safety Advisers) Regulations 1999 (as amended). The 1999 regulations were later subsumed into Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 586—The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004. This legislation implemented the requirements of the EU Framework Directives for Rail and Road, which required member states to align their national legislation with the international requirements for the transport of dangerous goods by rail and road. Similar legislation is in place in Northern Ireland.
	The EU requirement to appoint safety advisers applied only to the transport modes of road, rail and inland waterways.

Diabetic Retinopathy (Driving Licences)

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many diabetic retinopathy sufferers have had their driving licences revoked in each of the past three years; how many appealed against the decision; and how many had their licence subsequently returned.

David Jamieson: Information on the total number of revocations over the last three years for drivers who have diabetic retinopathy is not available without incurring disproportionate costs. When a licence is revoked, the driver is always offered the opportunity to provide fresh evidence, which in such cases would normally be in the form of further visual field charts. If the new fields satisfy the standard, a licence will be re-issued. No information is readily available on how many drivers have their licences returned on this basis.
	Since 2001, 18 drivers revoked because of diabetic retinopathy have formally appealed to a magistrates court in England and Wales or to a Sheriff Court in Scotland. Three went to a full hearing and of these two were dismissed and one was upheld and a new licence was issued. The other 15 appeals were withdrawn and eight have subsequently been issued with licences following the submission of fresh visual fields which met the required standard.

Diabetic Retinopathy (Driving Licences)

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's policy is on driving and visual disorders as they relate to people with diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The visual standards and assessment procedures applied in relation to drivers with diabetes are those to which all drivers are subject, regardless of their medical condition.

Fishermen (Working Time Directive)

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what exemptions or derogations are applicable to fishermen in respect of the Working Time Directive; whether they are (a) temporary and (b) permanent; and when those that are temporary will expire.

David Jamieson: Under the Fishing Vessels (Working Time: Sea Fishermen) Regulations 2004, which comes into force on 16 August, the Secretary of State may grant exceptions from the limit on the maximum weekly working time and the minimum periods of daily and weekly rest for objective or technical reasons or reasons concerning the organisation of work, provided he has consulted those concerned and the exception is subject to such conditions and limitations as will protect fishermen's health and safety. He may alter or cancel any exception on reasonable notice and after consultation with those affected.

Fishermen (Working Time Directive)

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Working Time Directive is in force in relation to its application to commercial sea fishing activity.

David Jamieson: The Fishing Vessels (Working Time: Sea Fishermen) Regulations 2004 were laid in Parliament on 13 July 2004 and come into force on 16 August 2004. The Regulations implement the European Directives on working time in respect of workers engaged in sea fishing.

Heavy Goods Vehicles

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles using the UK's roads were heavy goods vehicles in each of the last three years for which figures are available; how many road accidents involved HGVs in each year; how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured in such accidents; and what percentage these figures represent of the total in each case.

David Jamieson: The latest available figures are for 2001 to 2003 when the number of UK-registered heavy goods vehicles on the roads was:
	
		
			  Number of heavy goods vehicles 
		
		
			 2001 449,000 
			 2002 453,000 
			 2003 456,000 
		
	
	In addition, it is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 foreign-registered HGVs use roads in Great Britain.
	The information requested about road accidents involving HGVs in the UK, and casualties arising from these accidents is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Road accidents involving HGVs People killed in road accidents involving HGVs People injured in road accidents involving HGVs 
			  Number Percentage of all road accidents Number Percentage of all road fatalities Number Percentage of all injured road casualties 
		
		
			 2001 14,160 6 578 16 18,738 6 
			 2002 12,894 6 532 15 17,058 5 
			 2003 12,643 6 530 14 16,758 6

Heavy Goods Vehicles

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many licensed heavy goods vehicles there were in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

David Jamieson: The number of heavy goods vehicles licensed at the end of each of the last 10 years in the United Kingdom are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of heavy goods vehicles 
		
		
			 1994 430,500 
			 1995 434,200 
			 1996 438,000 
			 1997 440,600 
			 1998 439,500 
			 1999 439,900 
			 2000 443,300 
			 2001 449,100 
			 2002 453,000 
			 2003 455,600

International Ship and Port Facility Security Code

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the training being given to ship security officers will train them in all 25 of the topics given in Part B of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency approve training providers against the training specification for ship security officers which covers 23 of the 25 topics identified in Part B of the ISPS Code. Those concerning the layout of the individual ship are covered by the ship security officers' professional knowledge, and those concerning crowd management and control techniques are covered by other professional qualifications.

Motorcycles and Mopeds

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many crashes involving motorcycles and mopeds resulting in death or serious injury there have been in (a) the UK, (b) East Sussex and (c) Eastbourne in each of the last 10 years.

David Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Fatal and Serious road accidents involving TWMVs(12) by area: 1994 to 2003
		
			  East Sussex Eastbourne UK 
		
		
			 1994 82 4 7,029 
			 1995 79 4 6,906 
			 1996 95 5 6,434 
			 1997 80 5 6,729 
			 1998 91 9 6,721 
			 1999 76 5 7,163 
			 2000 77 3 7,711 
			 2001 86 8 7,670 
			 2002 98 7 7,835 
			 2003 90 3 7,951 
		
	
	(12) Two wheeled motor vehicles, mopeds, motor scooters and motorcycles.

Motorcycles and Mopeds

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the laws and regulations affecting pillion passengers of less than 16 years of age on motorcycles and mopeds.

David Jamieson: The following legislation affects all pillion passengers irrespective of age:
	Only motorcyclists who have passed a motorcycle test can carry passengers. (Regulation 16 of the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999)
	The machine must be equipped with suitable supports or rests for the feet of the pillion passenger. (Regulation 102 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986)
	Pillion passengers must be capable of sitting astride a proper seat securely fixed to the motorcycle. This may require specific adaptations to accommodate young children. (Section 23(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988)
	A pillion passenger must wear a safety helmet. (Motor Cycles (Protective Helmets) Regulations 1998)
	The decision to carry a passenger on a motorcycle remains with the rider, who is legally responsible for ensuring that the passenger is safely supported. (Section 23(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988)
	Any passenger must be carried in a manner so that no danger is caused, or likely to be caused, to any person on the vehicle or on the road. (Regulation 100 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986)
	It is an offence to use a vehicle when the number of passengers, or the manner in which they are carried, is such that it involves a danger of injury to any person. (Section 8 of the Road Traffic Act 1991)

Motorcycles and Mopeds

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pillion passengers on motorcycles and mopeds have been (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in each of the last 10 years in (i) the UK, (ii) East Sussex and (iii) Eastbourne.

David Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Number of TWMV l passengers(14) killed or seriously injured: 1994 to 2003 -- Casualties
		
			  East Sussex Eastbourne UK 
			  Killed Serious Killed Serious Killed Serious 
		
		
			 1994 1 5 0 0 45 449 
			 1995 0 9 0 1 30 505 
			 1996 0 8 0 0 26 474 
			 1997 1 9 0 0 33 465 
			 1998 0 10 0 0 33 411 
			 1999 0 2 0 1 24 449 
			 2000 1 9 0 0 32 468 
			 2001 0 5 0 0 29 403 
			 2002 1 3 0 0 29 454 
			 2003 3 4 0 0 30 428 
		
	
	(13) Two wheeled motor vehicles, mopeds, motor scooters and motorcycles.
	(14) Includes casualties in motorcycle sidecars.

Motorcycles and Mopeds

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents involving motorcycles and mopeds resulting in (a) death and (b) hospitalisation of (i) riders and (ii) pillion passengers there have been in (A) England, (B) Somerset, (C) Taunton Deane and (D) West Somerset in each of the last seven years.

David Jamieson: The numbers of accidents involving a fatal of serious injury to a motorcycle/moped rider or passenger in the areas requested are given in the following table. "Serious" injuries are defined within the Departments road accident reporting system (STATS 19) as injuries for which a person is detained in hospital as an in-patient, plus injuries that may not lead to hospitalisation such as concussion, severe shock and severe cuts and lacerations.
	
		
			  Severity 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England Fatal 437 433 486 539 501 532 598 
			  Serious 5,132 5,165 5,462 5,804 5,822 5,955 6,093 
			 Somerset Fatal 3 8 7 10 11 8 6 
			  Serious 61 47 43 59 44 56 57 
			 Taunton Deane Fatal 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 
			  Serious 14 10 8 8 5 16 12 
			 West Somerset Fatal 1 1 0 2 3 1 1 
			  Serious 3 1 4 1 7 6 5

Railways

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations provided (a) legal, (b) financial and (c) auditing services valued at over £25,000 to the Strategic Rail Authority in each year since 2001; and what the value of these services was in each case.

Tony McNulty: The information is shown in the following tables.
	
		Expenditure on legal services -- £ (approved invoices paid)
		
			 Organisation 2000–01 1 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2 Total 
		
		
			 Allen and Overy — — 254,889.87 2,813,023.34 642,062.61 3,709,975.83 
			 Bond Pearce — — — 25,531.91 17,084.75 42,616.66 
			 Brodies Solicitors — 3,607.00 119,813.39 494,094.57 130,993.56 748,508.52 
			 C. Hoare and Co. — — 400,000.00 — — 400,000.00 
			 Clifford Chance — 5,947.58 227,937.19 689,106.64 201,937.34 1,124,928.75 
			 CMS Cameron McKenna — — — 16,117.60 21,612.55 37,730.15 
			 Cobbetts — — 81,499.90 11,131.45 — 92,631.35 
			 DLA — — 24,877.44 19,198.66 13,723.81 57,799.92 
			 Evans Harding — — — 764,578.16 — 764,578.16 
			 Eversheds 308,160.40 1,133,044.33 2,135,651.04 3,344,576.60 349,041.47 7,270,473.85 
			 Field Fisher Waterhouse — — 74,400.04 22,689.18 9,922.15 107,011.38 
			 Freshfields — — 7,600.00 1,559,720.78 217,193.36 1,784,514.14 
			 HM Paymaster General Lord Chancellor's Department — — 198,065.00 323.40 — 198,388.40 
			 Holden and Co. — — 39,337.49 — — 39,337.49 
			 Hollingworth Bissell 5,135.00 82,524.29 61,085.00 103,266.09 12,626.71 264,637.08 
			 Kennedy's Solicitors — — 101,135.74 13,061.59 1,378.72 115,576.05 
			 K Legal Solicitors — 105,133.31 12,340.79 — — 117,474.10 
			 Linklaters and Paines 253,362.39 3,019,692.08 8,000,840.23 164,555.06 751,698.89 12,190,148.65 
			 Mills and Reeve Solicitors — — 106,611.28 — — 106,611.28 
			 Osborne Clarke — — 30,000.00 — — 30,000.00 
			 Rees and Freres — — 87,459.30 — — 87,459.30 
			 Thomas Eggar Church Adams — 5,009.70 192,944.20 — — 197,953.90 
			 Vizards Solicitors — — 334,693.67 — — 334,693.67 
			 Total 566,657.79 4,354,958.29 12,491,181.57 10,040,975.05 2,369,275.94 29,823,048.63 
		
	
	
		Expenditure on financial services -- £ (approved invoices paid)
		
			 Organisation 2000–01(17) 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05(18) Total 
		
		
			 Babcock and Brown — — — 303,920.99 — 303,920.99 
			 Capital Value Brokers Ltd. — — — 24,679.00 5,585.00 30,264.01 
			 HSBC Rail (UK) Ltd. — — 42,000.00 — — 42,000.00 
			 KPMG 438,648.52 6,181,816.35 8,809,144.19 6,822,884.65 682,923.84 22,935,417.55 
			 L E K — — 610,521.29 2,497,441.36 387,374.02 3,495,336.67 
			 Lazard Brothers and Co. Ltd. — 2,832,562.82 7,064,667.22 1,738,431.57 450,372.57 12,086,034.18 
			 Moody's Investors Services — — — 48,081.79 — 48,081.79 
			 Mott Macdonald — — 196,632.26 78,671.30 — 275,303.56 
			 PKF — — 572,029.76 266,668.95 11,179.99 849,878.70 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers — 67,520.00 361,159.96 764,694.51 44,250.00 1,237,624.47 
			 Standard and Poores — 30,000.00 20,000.00 40,000.00 — 90,000.00 
			 Total 438,648.52 9,111,899.17 17,676,154.68 12,585,474.12 1,581,685.42 41,393,61.91 
		
	
	
		Expenditure on auditing services -- £ (approved invoices paid)
		
			 Organisation 2000–01 3 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 4 Total 
		
		
			 National Audit Office — 96,100.00 117,775.00 247,000.00 — 460,875.00 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers 40,000.00 85,535.00 52,100.00 112,334.99 28,175.00 318,144.99 
			 Total 40,000.00 181,635.00 169,875.00 359,334.99 28,175.00 779,019.99 
		
	
	(15) Figures in this column show expenditure for the two months February 2001 (when the SRA was established) and March 2001.
	(16) Figures in this column show expenditure for the three months April-June 2004.
	(17) Figures in this column show expenditure for the two months February 2001 (when the SRA was established) and March 2001.
	(18) Figures in this column show expenditure for the three months April-June 2004.

Road Traffic Accidents (Fatalities)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities there were from road traffic accidents in each local authority area in England and Wales in (a) 1998, (b) 1999, (c) 2000 and (d) 2001.

David Jamieson: holding answer 16 July 2004
	The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Strategic Rail Authority

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total value was of (a) technical and financial contracts, (b) technical consultants used on a call-off basis and (c) financial consultants used on a call-off basis by the Strategic Rail Authority in each year since 2001.

Tony McNulty: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		Approved invoices paid -- £
		
			 Financial year 2000–01 1 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2 Total 
		
		
			 Technical and financial expenditure (non-call-offs) 352,553.87 4,608,001.72 9,744,734.23 3,906,538.03 830,827.42 19,442,655.28 
			 Technical consultant expenditure (call-off) 686,740.01 6,871,213.80 11,362,342.95 12,435,146.62 2,353,573.99 33,709,017.37 
			 Financial consultant expenditure (call-off) 438,648.52 6,249,336.35 10,549,487.46 10,401,760.77 1,125,727.85 28,764,960.95 
			 Total 1,477,942.40 17,728,551.87 31,656,564.64 26,743,445.43 4,310,129.26 81,916,633.60 
		
	
	(19) Figures in this column show expenditure for the two months February 2001 (when the SRA was established) and March 2001.
	(20) Figures in this column show expenditure for the three months April to June 2004.

Transec

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how often the Director of Transec reports to him.

David Jamieson: Frequently.

Transport Operator Identity Crime

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to put in place measures to counter transport operator identity crime.

David Jamieson: Security measures in place to manage the terrorist threat to the transport system vary according to the mode of transport and the threat. Where appropriate, such measures include the security screening of transport operators and the checking of their identity on entry to a restricted zone.

Uninsured Driving

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish the report commissioned by his Department into uninsured driving.

David Jamieson: holding answer 16 July 2004
	We are carefully considering all the recommendations in the report by Professor Greenaway on uninsured driving, and will be publishing the report as soon as possible.

DEFENCE

Iraq

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Iraqi security forces will be at full operational level.

Geoff Hoon: The Iraqi Security Forces consist of the Iraqi Police Service, Iraqi Armed Forces, Iraqi National Guard, Iraqi Border Police, Facilities Protection Force, Iraqi Coastal Defence Force and Iraqi Riverine Patrol Service among others. Each of these is a separate organisation and has its own intensive programme of training and capability development. Some units of each are already operational locally. Further capability development will occur at different rates in each organisation. It is for the Iraqi Government to determine when the capability they seek is being delivered.

Iraq

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the time scale for the Iraqi security forces to reach full operational capacity.

Geoff Hoon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones).

Iraq

Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work his Department is doing with the (a) Department for International Development and (b) non-governmental organisations to assist the post-war reconstruction of Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: The Ministry of Defence's main contribution to the reconstruction of Iraq is to help provide the security that allows reconstruction projects to take place. We also work with the Department for International Development on numerous reconstruction projects in the South under the auspices of the Emergency Infrastructure Programme, with United Kingdom soldiers rebuilding and offering advice. We work with DFID to ensure that our Quick Impact Project money, which brings about short-term improvements in living conditions, is disbursed wisely.
	MOD coordinates closely with DFID on Iraq policy issues, including strategic communication, capacity building and use of funds from the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. NGOs concerned with reconstruction normally engage with DfTD. Our close relationship with DfID ensures that our collective reconstruction effort can take account of concerns or proposals from NGOs.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are in Iraq; and what British equipment is deployed there.

Adam Ingram: As at the 13 July there are around 8,500 British troops deployed on Operation Telic in Iraq.
	There are currently around 2,800 Army vehicles and other pieces of equipment ranging from challenger tanks and helicopters through to fuel tankers and forklift handling equipment, generators and Land Rovers. The RAF has a mixture of Combat, Air Transport, Refuelling and Maritime Surveillance aircraft involved in operations in the Gulf and the Royal Navy has some warships and support vessels.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the UK's defence budget has been devoted specifically to the armed forces in Iraq over the past 15 months.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence, in common with other Government Departments, publishes expenditure data on an annual basis in its Resource Accounts following audit by the National Audit Office. Details of costs of operations in Iraq for the Financial Year 2003–04 will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts following audit in September. Total costs are expected to be within the £1,539 million voted by Parliament which represents 3.6 per cent. of the total resource and capital expenditure limits voted to my Department in the Spring Supplementary Estimates.
	Audited figures for the cost of operations in Iraq in this financial year will be published in the MOD's Resource Accounts in 2005. It is too early to provide any estimate for the total costs that will be incurred this year, but we will ask the House to vote the necessary funds in Supplementary Estimates in due course.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the incidents that have led to compensation being paid to Iraqi people in the sector occupied by British forces for (a) death, (b) injury and (c) destruction of property.

Adam Ingram: As at 16 July, the following incidents have led to compensation being paid to Iraqi people in the sector occupied by British Forces.
	
		
			   Number 
		
		
			 Death Road traffic accidents 6 
			  Gunshot wounds 3 
			  Bomb attack on British Army vehicle 1 
			  Death in detention 1 
			 Injury Road traffic accidents 14 
			  Gunshot wounds 3 
			  Sustained during arrest 11 
			  Resulting from property searches 2 
			 Property damage — 24 
			 Vehicle damage Road traffic accidents 57

Iraq

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which private companies' services have been employed by his Department in Iraq; and how much has been paid to each.

Adam Ingram: We employ contractors to undertake a wide variety of tasks such as support of equipment, construction and removal of camps, catering and translation. They are contracted by a number of separate military commands including in theatre.
	A record of which private companies' services have been employed is not held centrally and could only be established at disproportionate cost; details of the respective contracts are commercial in confidence.

Recruitment (Regimental Attainment)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what account he takes of the recruitment attainment by regiments when considering the future configuration of the Army.

Adam Ingram: We continually monitor the ability of Regiments to recruit and retain personnel, their success in doing so would be one element taken into account in decisions on the future structure of the Army.

Scottish Regiments

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reorganise the structure and recruitment areas of the Scottish regiments.

Adam Ingram: The armed forces are constantly evolving to reflect the strategic security environment in which they operate. The Defence White Paper published last December established the policy context for shaping the future structure of our armed forces. For the Army, it outlined the vision of a more balanced force that is flexible, rapidly deployable and sustainable for the variety of operational tasks that we envisage it undertaking.
	Against this policy guideline, we have been working through the detailed implications for the Army's force structure. We anticipate being in a position to make announcements about the conclusions of this work shortly.

Service Personnel (Occupational Stress)

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department takes to assist service personnel in coping with the stresses of serving in war zones.

Ivor Caplin: Preparation for dealing with potentially stressful operational situations forms part of normal training for all Service personnel All Service personnel are given pre and post deployment briefings on dealing with the possibility of post traumatic stress, including guidance on who to consult if they experience problems. Trained mental health staff are also deployed to provide advice to personnel in theatre, supported by both Defence Medical Services and our Welfare Services all of whom play such an extremely important part in supporting our forces both regular and reserve.

Departmental Agencies (Relocation)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for moving the headquarters of one of his Department's agencies to the north-east of England.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to relocate any Defence Agency Headquarters to the North East. However, we are conducting an examination of the Defence estate as part of our estate rationalisation strategy.

Afghanistan

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action the Department is taking to improve the security situation in Afghanistan.

Geoff Hoon: The UK is making a major contribution to improving the security situation in Afghanistan. The transfer of control of our Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Mazar-e Sharif and Meymanek together with associated support forces, was a major step in implementing the first stage of ISAF's expansion across Afghanistan; a process we see as playing a vital role in helping the Afghans create a secure and stable country. Together with our forces in Kabul, we now contribute around 580 personnel to the ISAF, and are also engaged in providing wider support to security sector reform in Afghanistan. Looking ahead, and as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced to the House on 30 June, we have offered to deploy the Headquarters of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps to lead ISAF in 2006. This is the clearest possible evidence of our commitment to ISAF and to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the UK contribution to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Geoff Hoon: Of the 580 United Kingdom personnel serving with the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, 340 are deployed to Kabul where they are assisting the Afghan Transitional Authority to maintain security. The remainder are serving in the UK-led multinational Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Mazar-e Sharif and Meymaneh, and the associated Forward Support Base, in Northern Afghanistan.

RAF Bases (US Personnel)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, at what percentage of RAF bases RAF personnel are outnumbered by US personnel.

Adam Ingram: There are 10 RAF bases where RAF personnel are outnumbered by the United States personnel, which is approximately 17 per cent. of the principal RAF bases in the United Kingdom.

Aircraft Carriers Programme

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the aircraft carriers programme.

Geoff Hoon: I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Statement made to the House earlier today.

Cadet Forces

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the training objectives of each of the cadet forces.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The training objectives of each of the cadet forces are broadly similar, differing only to reflect the traditions and ethos of the parent Service. They support the key themes of the Government youth policies by providing training aimed at capacity building, maximising personal potential and social inclusion. Training is undertaken by cadets under two broad headings: military training and adventurous training in the approximate proportions of 60 per cent. and 40 per cent. respectively. The military training functions are as follows:
	a. To provide the opportunity for young people to exercise responsibility and leadership, and to learn from the Services how they can be best developed.
	b. To impart a basic knowledge and understanding of the role of the armed forces.
	c. To encourage those who have an interest in the Services to be aware of the career opportunities the armed forces have to offer.
	The adventurous training includes activities that are arduous and include an element of risk to test the courage and endurance of cadets and develop their qualities of character.
	The military training syllabi contain such topics as turnout and drill, skill at arms, shooting, map and compass, fieldcraft, and first aid. Rock climbing, mountain walking, canoeing, caving, offshore sailing, sub aqua diving and parachuting are just some of the approved adventurous training activities undertaken by cadets with the view to making them better citizens.

Arms Trafficking

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his letter of 16 June to the US Defense Secretary; and what implications this has for future Government policy.

Geoff Hoon: We are working with the United States Administration to secure the necessary legislative approval to give effect to an exemption for the United Kingdom from the International Traffic in Arms Regulations as soon as possible. We remain in close contact with the Administration on this and look forward to its successful conclusion.

Hawk Aircraft

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long he expects the current fleet of Red Arrows Hawk aircraft to remain in service; and what plans he has for their replacement.

Adam Ingram: It is expected that the current fleet of Hawk Red Arrows will continue flying into the next decade. The management of the Red Arrows fleet beyond that time frame is a matter for periodic review.

EU Military Planning/Structures

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's commitment to the EU military planning cell is in terms of (a) civilian and uniformed personnel and (b) funding.

Geoff Hoon: Both the European Union cell at SHAPE and the new civil-military cell in the EU Military Staff will be funded out of the Council Secretariat budget. No decisions on the size or manning of these have yet been taken.

EU Military Planning/Structures

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the EU planning cell to stand up; and what its role will be.

Geoff Hoon: The European Union is setting up a cell at SHAPE to improve the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO and, in particular, the planning of "Berlin Plus" operations where the EU uses NATO's planning capability.
	It is also establishing a civil-military cell within the EU Military Staff, which will improve coherence between the EU's civilian and military responses, develop expertise in managing the civilian-military interface, and undertake advance strategic planning for joint civil-military operations. This will also have the capacity to generate an ad hoc Operations Centre for an operation, in particular where a joint civil-military response is required, where no national headquarters is identified, and if agreed unanimously by EU member states.
	The June European Council agreed that these cells should be established by the end of 2004, with the ability to set up an Operations Centre available by 1 January 2006.

EU Military Planning/Structures

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military agreements (a) in force and (b) in negotiation between EU members in respect of military structures outside NATO.

Geoff Hoon: The following table sets out the main multilateral military structures outside NATO which include European Union members. A number of these also include non-EU countries. In addition, there are many other bilateral military agreements between individual EU member states.
	The United Kingdom is a party to military agreements in respect of four of these structures, as listed in the following table. Military agreements between other EU members are a matter for those member states' governments.
	
		
			 Structure EU participants 
		
		
			 EAG—European Air Group Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK 
			 European Airlift Centre Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK 
			 Sealift Co-ordination Centre (Eindhoven) Netherlands, UK 
			 European Amphibious Initiative (including the UK/Netherlands Amphibious Force) France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK 
			 SHIRBRIG—Stand-by High Readiness Brigade Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden. (Observers: Czech Republic, Hungary) 
			 SEEBRIG—South-Eastern Europe Brigade Greece, Italy, Slovenia 
			 NORDCAPS—Nordic Co-ordinated Arrangement for Military Peace Support Finland, Sweden, Denmark 
			 EUROCORPS Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Luxembourg 
			 EUROFOR France, Italy, Portugal, Spain 
			 EUROMARFOR France, Italy, Portugal, Spain

Lance-Corporal William Graham

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 14 June 2004, Official Report, column 644W, on Lance Corporal William Graham, what exceptional reasons were laid before the Director of Manning to make desirable the retention of Lance Corporal William Graham in the Army.

Adam Ingram: I am withholding the details in accordance with Exemption 12 (Privacy of an individual) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Management Groups

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the responsibilities of the (a) Command Field Army, (b) Command Regional Forces, (c) Defence Supply Chain HQ, (d) Primary Health Care, (e) QVS, (f) DYRMS, (g) Defence Academy, (h) Defence Medical Services Department and (i) Defence Medical Education and Training Agency management groups.

Ivor Caplin: The responsibilities of the management groupings requested are listed as follows:
	(a) Exercising operational command of the field Army and training designated forces for war and other operations in order to provide military capability in the right place, at the right time in the most cost effective manner.
	(b) The Commander Regional Forces maintains, and where possible, enhances the provision of the military capability and infrastructure support required to meet CinC Land's operational requirements.
	(c) The Defence Supply Chain provides a range of support functions to enable the British armed forces to carry out operations. These include storing and distributing all the supplies needed by the forces, such as equipment, mail, medical supplies, fuel, clothing, food and ammunition, as well as transporting personnel and freight anywhere in the world.
	(d) Primary health care comes under the responsibility of the single services except in Germany (responsibility lies with British Forces Germany Health Care) and on operations (responsibility lies with PJHQ). It covers, general practice, occupational health, public health and environmental medicine as well as rehabilitation services and, to a degree, mental health care. These services are available to all armed forces personnel, and entitled civilians ie dependants of service personnel on overseas postings and UK civilians overseas. The standard of healthcare is at least equal to primary health care available on the NHS.
	(e) The role of the Queen Victoria School is to provide, in accordance with the provision of the Royal Warrant and within a stable boarding environment, education in keeping with the curriculum and standards of the Scottish education system so as to enable pupils admitted to the school to proceed to university or other higher or further education institutions, or to enter directly into the armed services, professions, commerce or industry.
	(f) The Duke of York's Royal Military School's role is to provide, in accordance with the provisions of the Royal Warrant, secondary education within a stable environment for those admitted to the school so as to enable them to proceed to university or other higher education institutions, or to enter directly into the armed services, professions, commerce or industry.
	(g) The Defence Academy is a national and international centre of excellence, providing military and civilian personnel with high quality training and education, primarily at the postgraduate level, and conducts research in fields related to defence. The teaching and research it provides are at all times coherent and responsive both to Defence customer needs and to developing national and international circumstances.
	(h) DMSD is responsible for the delivering the required Deployable Medical Operational Capability and a health and healthcare system that maximises the number of service personnel 'fit for task'. The Defence Medical Services provide the armed forces with a comprehensive medical service in peace, war and operations other than war to standards at least equal to the national health service (NHS).
	(i) DMETA delivers medical training to specified standards for personnel of the Defence Medical Services to meet the operational requirement. The agency also makes trained personnel available to front line commanders for training, operations and deployment.
	Further information on individual defence agencies is available in the Library of the House.

Means-tested Benefits

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the means-tested benefits available through his Department and the agencies for which it is responsible (a) in May 1997 and (b) now.

Ivor Caplin: Under the rules of the War Pension Scheme, the Veterans Agency takes into account claimants' means when assessing the level of certain benefits and allowances paid to those affected by death or injury as a result of service in the armed forces. Specifically:
	In 1997, the War Widowers pension was means tested, but this is no longer the case.
	In 1997, and now, a claimant's income is one of the factors taken into consideration when determining entitlement to the following additional allowances: additional allowance for unemployability supplement, allowance for lower standard of occupation and rent allowance.

Medical Services

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Department provides a single seamless health service to British servicemen and women and their families serving in Germany; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The British Forces Germany (BFG) health service is responsible for the provision of health care for the Army, and the few remaining RAF personnel in Germany. It aims to provide a seamless service to its patients, which include civilian staff and families, and standards of service at least comparable to those of the national health service.
	The BFG health service brings together military personnel, Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Trust and the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA) into a co-operative military/civilian and public/private working partnership backed by open-book financial arrangements and close collaboration at every management level.
	Primary care is provided by medical centres located in each of the Garrisons and run by military and civilian medical staff employed by the Defence Medical Service supported by SSAFA.
	Hospital-based care is provided, through Guy's and St. Thomas' as prime contractor, at five German hospitals selected to serve the areas where British forces are based in Germany.
	In the German hospitals, Guy's and St. Thomas' liaison staff provide on-site support to patients. British style menus are available as well as English language television and newspapers.
	Services are continually monitored to ensure that standards are maintained and as part of this process regular patient satisfaction surveys are conducted.

Medical Services

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what duty he has to provide medical services to Service personnel; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether he has a duty to provide medical services for Servicemen and women and their families equivalent to the duty of the Secretary of State under the Health Act 1977; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The main activity of the Ministry of Defence is to deliver security for the people of the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories by defending their security, including against terrorism, and so to act as a force for good by strengthening international peace and stability. In doing so, it has a responsibility as an employer, to take care of all its personnel. However, this responsibility is not equivalent to that of the Secretary of State for Health who, under the Health Act 1977 has a duty to:
	"continue the promotion in England and Wales of a comprehensive health service."
	As part of its responsibility to take care of all its personnel the Ministry of Defence, through the Defence Medical Services, provides comprehensive medical services, to standards at least equal to the NHS, to Servicemen and women in peace, war and operations other than war in order to maintain military capability. In the main, primary care is delivered by the single Services. Secondary care for Service personnel is usually provided through routine treatment within the NHS unless there are operational reasons to do otherwise. In the UK, medical services for families of Servicemen and women are usually provided within the NHS. Overseas, the Ministry of Defence is committed to providing medical services for families accompanying Service personnel which are comparable to those provided by the NHS.

Orange Parades

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of providing assistance to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in policing the 1 July parade organised by Ballymacarrett District Loyal Orange Lodge No. 6.

Adam Ingram: There were no additional Army manpower costs in providing public order support to the Police Service of Northern Ireland in connection with the 1 July parade organised by the Ballymacarrett Loyal Orange Lodge District No. 6 in East Belfast. It is not possible to provide the additional equipment usage and fuel costs except at disproportionate cost.

Trident Replacement

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made in assessing options for the replacement of the Trident missile system.

Geoff Hoon: Work on a range of options for maintaining a nuclear deterrent capability is in hand in accordance with the policy set out in last December's Defence White Paper. As that White paper made clear, decisions on whether to replace Trident are not needed this Parliament but are likely to be required in the next one.

PRIME MINISTER

Arms Trafficking

Jim Cousins: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he has raised British exemption from the US International Traffic in Arms Regulation with the US Administration; and when he expects the exemption to be granted.

Tony Blair: We are working closely with the US Administration to secure the necessary legislative approval to give effect to an exemption for the United Kingdom from the International Traffic in Arms Regulations as soon as possible.

Butler Report

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister which Ministers were provided with an advance copy of the Butler Committee Report.

Tony Blair: The Butler Review provided the Government with the final version of its report on 13 July.

Butler Report

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will establish an inquiry into the leaks to the media of parts of the report of the Butler Committee on the review of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction prior to its publication.

Tony Blair: The Government have no plans to establish an inquiry.

Correspondence

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Prime Minister when he will answer the letter to him of 30 June from the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid-Kent about the Iraq Oil for Food programme.

Tony Blair: My Office received the letter on 5 July. I shall reply to the hon. Member shortly.

G8 Presidency (Priorities)

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister what the Government's priorities were when the UK last held the G8 presidency; and what priorities will be set for the next presidency.

Tony Blair: The priorities of the G7 summit held in Birmingham in 1998 were increasing employment, the environment and crime, particularly drugs and money laundering. We also sought to take steps forward on debt relief, which led to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
	The main priorities for the UK presidency of the G8 in 2005 will be Africa and climate change. The work of the Commission for Africa and taking forward the Kyoto Protocol will be major parts of our agenda.
	We will also take forward issues from this year's G8 meeting in the United States including reform in the Middle East, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and
	trade.

Iraq

Clare Short: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his statement of 14 July on the Butler report, what information caused him to decide on 15 March 2003 that it was his unequivocal view that Iraq was in further material breach of Resolution 1441; what account he took of Dr. Hans Blix's recent report on increased co-operation from the Iraqi authorities and his request for more time for inspections; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: Iraq was in further material breach under Operative Paragraph 4 of UNSCR 1441 because of
	"false statements or omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq pursuant to this resolution and failure by Iraq to comply with, and cooperate fully in the implementation of this resolution."
	As Lord Butler said in his report
	"We have been told that, in coining to this view, the Prime Minister took account both of the overall intelligence picture and of information from a wide range of other sources, including especially UNMOVIC information." (paragraph 385, HC 898)

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister whether following publication of the Butler Committee report he is able to reveal whether GCHQ provided any information on alleged attempts by Iraq to obtain uranium from Niger.

Tony Blair: As Lord Butler made clear in his report
	"The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that this visit was for the purpose of acquiring uranium" (paragraph 503 (b) HC 898).

Ministerial Committee on Public Health

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Prime Minister when the Ministerial Committee on Public Health (MISC27) was established.

Tony Blair: I announced the establishment of the Ministerial Committee on Public Health (MISC27) to Parliament on Thursday 27 May 2004.

Radioactive Waste (Italy)

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister whether he discussed with President Berlusconi, during his meeting on 13 July, the future timetable for the return of radioactive waste to Italy arising from the contracted reprocessing of Italian spent nuclear fuel at Sellafield.

Tony Blair: My discussions with Prime Minister Berlusconi focused on international and European issues. As with previous administrations, it is not the practice of this Government to make public all the details of discussions with foreign Governments.

Terrorism

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to publish further Joint Intelligence Committee assessments to assist public understanding of the threats from terrorism and proliferation, to which he made special reference in his statement to the House on 14 July.

Tony Blair: The Government have no current plans to publish Joint Intelligence Committee assessments. However, as the Butler report recognises in paragraph 342 (HC 898), there are likely to be demands in the future on Government to put intelligence into the public domain. The Government fully accepts the conclusions of the Butler report, including those relating to the public use of intelligence.

TREASURY

Annual Income (Taxpayers)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many taxpayers have (a) total annual income and (b) earned annual income in excess of (i) £100,000, (ii) £250,000 and (iii) £1 million.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is given in the following table:
	
		Number of taxpayers (thousand)
		
			 Income range (a) By range of annual income (b) By range of earned income 
		
		
			 (i) £100,000 or more 329 278 
			 (ii) £250,000 or more 63 51 
			 (iii) £1,000,000 or more 5 4 
		
	
	Note:
	The estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2001–02.

Art Prizes (Taxation)

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue raised from taxation of prizes awarded for art, in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue does not have central records of the amount of revenue raised from taxation of prizes awarded for art. These sort of data are not shown separately on tax returns and to ask taxpayers to provide it would be an extra burden. If a prize is received by an individual in the course of a trade, vocation or profession, then the prize will normally be taxable.

Central European Fund

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the United Kingdom contributed to the Central European Fund in (a) 1997, (b) 1999, (c) 2001 and (d) 2004; and what the contributions made by other European member states were for those years.

Ruth Kelly: I am unaware of the Central European Fund. However, Government figures for the UK's gross contribution, abatement, public sector receipts and net contribution to the EC Budget for the years 1999, 2001 together with a forecast for 2004 can be found in Table 3 of the 2004 European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6134). Details for 1997 can be found in Table 3 of the 2003 European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 5800).
	Details, as published by the European Commission, of Member States, including the UK, gross contributions, after taking account of the UK abatement, to the EC Budget for the years 1999 and 2001 can be, found in Tables 2 and 2A of the 2004 European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6134). Details for 1997 can be found in Tables 2 and 2A of the 2003 European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 5800). The following table provides the latest EC Budget estimates of these contributions for 2004.
	
		
			  2004 € million 
		
		
			 Belgium 3,749 
			 Denmark 2,061 
			 Germany 21,878 
			 Greece 1,738 
			 Spain 8,202 
			 France 16,801 
			 Ireland 1,266 
			 Italy 13,674 
			 Luxembourg 218 
			 Netherlands 5,459 
			 Austria 2,216 
			 Portugal 1,440 
			 Finland 1,490 
			 Sweden 2,686 
			 UK 12,857 
			 Czech Republic 545 
			 Estonia 57 
			 Cyprus 89 
			 Latvia 67 
			 Lithuania 126 
			 Hungary 560 
			 Malta 35 
			 Poland 1,345 
			 Slovenia 191 
			 Slovakia 240 
		
	
	Source:
	Amending Budget No. 5/2004.
	The figures shown for the 10 new member states represent contributions for two thirds of the year, following enlargement on 1 May 2004.

Civil Contingencies

Llew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional resources he plans to make available for emergency planning officers in local authorities to deal with planning for civil contingencies arising from terrorist attacks (a) on nuclear installations and (b) using dirty radiological bombs.

Paul Boateng: As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his statement of 12 July, the Government will double the contribution previously allocated to the Civil Defence Grant from £20 million to £40 million from 2005–06. This will further enhance the capacity of local authorities to carry out emergency planning in response to a wide range of civil contingencies. The funding will be provided through an increase to Formula Spending Share for local authorities through the EPCS (Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services) block.

Civil Service Staff

Peter Lilley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the (a) gross and (b) net reduction in the number of civil service posts and the number of posts which will be outsourced by 2008 in (i) the UK administration and (ii) the devolved Administrations.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 19 July 2004
	As announced in the Spending Review there will be a gross reduction of 84,150 posts by 2008, and after redeployment to the frontline there will be a net reduction of 70,600 posts.
	Any future outsourcing changes will be made by Departments in line with their business need. The devolved Administrations will announce their spending plans for devolved areas in the autumn in the normal way.

Civil Service Staff

Tony Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of reductions in staff numbers due to efficiency savings within the civil service for civil servants working in Northampton.

Paul Boateng: There will be an overall gross reduction in posts of 84,150 by 2008 and departments will pursue these reductions in line with business needs.
	It is for individual Departments to finalise specific plans.

Tourism (Clacton-on-Sea)

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in tourism-related jobs in Clacton-on-Sea on the latest date for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Ivan Henderson, dated 19 July 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about tourism-related jobs in Clacton-on-Sea. (184993)
	The latest available data, from the 2002 Annual Business Inquiry, shows that the total number of employee jobs in tourism related industries in Clacton-on-Sea was 1,400. This total is obtained by combining figures for those working in the following industries as identified by Standard Industrial Classification 2003:
	hotels
	restaurants
	bars
	activities of travel agencies
	library, archives and museums etc.
	sporting activities
	other recreational activities.

Departmental Electricity Use

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of electricity used by buildings in (a) his Department and (b) agencies of the Department came from renewable sources in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The following information and tables provide the information required in the form in which the Chancellors Departments and Agencies have been able to compile it without having to incur disproportionate costs. The proportion of electricity used by buildings in the Chancellors' Department and its agencies that came from renewable sources in each year since 1997 is given as follows:
	Office for National Statistics
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 1997–01 0 
			 2001 (To date) 10 
		
	
	Royal Mint
	None of the electricity used by Royal Mint came from renewable sources.
	HM Customs and Excise Inland Revenue and the Valuation Office Agency
	Information prior to 2001–02 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2001–02 13 
			 2002–03 10 
			 2003–04 10 
		
	
	Debt Management Office and National Savings and Investments
	Information on the sustainability of electricity is not held by DMO and NS&I for any years.
	Government Actuary's Department
	Data is not available prior to July 2003. Since then none of the electricity used by GAD came from renewable sources.
	Office of Government Commerce
	None of the electricity used by OGC came from renewable sources. OGC Buying Solutions (set up in 2001) used the following:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2001–02 0 
			 2002–03 100 
			 2003–04 (21)100 
		
	
	(21) 100 per cent. six months 60 per cent. six months: variation due to relocation
	HM Treasury
	The percentage from renewable sources from July 2003 for HM Treasury to date is 57 per cent. Although some supplies before this date had been from renewable sources, it has not been possible to quantify them.

Departmental Publications (Storage)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located.

Ruth Kelly: The majority of requests for publications are met by the Treasury's website, www.hm-treasury. gov.uk.
	Approximately 15 copies of each recent Treasury publication are held centrally to fulfil requests from members of the public without internet access, with larger quantities held for documents that are likely to attract considerable interest. Materials to help UK businesses deal with the euro as a foreign currency are held by an outside distributor in Manchester.
	Treasury teams also hold some stocks of publications for their own use.

EU Funding

George Foulkes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the construction projects in each region of the UK which have received whole or partial funding from the EU in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area; and what the value of the EU funding was (a) per project and (b) as a percentage of the total cost.

Paul Boateng: Information on UK receipts from the EC budget can be found in Table 3.3 of the 2004 European Community Finances White Paper (Cmd 6134). Detailed information on individual projects is not held centrally, and the question could only be answered at disproportionate cost.

EU Funding

George Foulkes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total value of funding received by each region of the UK from the European Union in each of the last five years, broken down by type of funding; and what the value of matching UK funding is in each case.

Paul Boateng: The UK is eligible for EU spending through Structural Funds, which is managed by DTI, the Common Agricultural Policy, which is managed by DEFRA, and internal policies, which are managed by DTI, DfES, DWP, DCMS, the Department of Health, the Department for Transport, and the Home Office. Information on UK receipts from the EC budget can be found in Table 3.3 of the 2004 European Community Finances White Paper (Cmd 6134).
	Detailed information on individual projects is not held centrally, and so the actual funding received in each year by region, broken down by type of funding, and the value of matching UK funding, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Euro (Pension Liabilities)

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications of British membership of the Euro for the UK's liability to share in the unfunded pension liabilities of other Eurozone countries; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: Article 103 of the EC Treaty explicitly rules out adoption of liabilities of one member state by others or by the EU as a whole. EMU membership would not change this.

KF Concept

David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Financial Services Authority on its investigations into the KF concept.

Ruth Kelly: I understand that there have been no discussions between the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority concerning its investigations into the KF Concept and the activities of Mr. Kevin Foster and his associates. The FSA has issued public statements on its website www.fsa.gov.uk about the progress of its investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further. Anyone with relevant information about or who has suffered detriment because of the KF Concept should contact the FSA.

MRSA (Frimley Park Hospital)

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have died in the past three years at Frimley Park Hospital where the cause of death has been wholly or partly attributable to MRSA; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Andrew Mackinlay, dated 19 July 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people have died at Frimley Park Hospital where the cause of death has been wholly or partly attributable to MRSA. (184668)
	The total number of deaths in Frimley Park Hospital where the cause of death was wholly or partly attributable to MRSA 1 in the years 2000 to 2002, the latest year for which figures are available, was seven.
	1 Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993–2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15–22.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Llew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new employees of non-departmental public bodies will be created as a result of the announcements made in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Paul Boateng: All areas of the public service are committed to achieving efficiency gains of 2.5 per cent. per year over the Spending Review period. How these savings are delivered within non-departmental bodies (NDPBs) and the resulting changes to workforce number will be decided by the Department and their respective NDPBs.

Postal Services (Dangerous Goods)

David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his assessment of the possible security threats posed by the importation of firearms, drugs and other dangerous goods into the UK by post.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise are responsible for the detection of prohibited and restricted goods into the United Kingdom. With other agencies, they keep possible security threats under constant review and align their deployment of resources according to the level of assessed risk.

Public Sector Employees

Tim Collins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what roles education employees counted in the Office for National Statistics survey of public sector employees published in May fulfilled, broken down by (a) job title and (b) salary.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tim Collins, dated 19 July 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about public sector employees. (183155)
	The estimates of public sector employees in the UK published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are based on survey sources that do not capture information on job title or salary, and so the ONS is unable to provide the data requested. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) publishes information on the school workforce in England, and provisional data for January 2004 were published in a DfES statistical First Release on 29 April 2004. The ONS and DfES data sets are not directly comparable due to differences in geographical coverage, and the fact that ONS estimates are headcounts while DfES estimates are calculated in terms of full-time equivalents. Additionally, DfES publishes information on teachers' pay, for both England and Wales, in a document "School Workforce in England". Information on teachers' pay is given in tables 32 to 38 in the most recent edition, which relates to 2003. It can be accessed via the DfES website at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000443/index.shtml.
	Information on the school workforces in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is published by the relevant devolved administration.

Public Service Agreements

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the public service agreements negotiated for the current spending review period are on course for all targets contained in them to be met in their original form; how many have seen targets set in them amended since the original agreement; and in the case of how many he does not expect all targets originally set within them to be achieved during the spending review period.

Paul Boateng: Departments' performance against the PSA targets agreed in the 2002 Spending Review is reported in Departmental Reports, Autumn Performance Reports and on the PSA performance website. Departments will continue to report their performance against these targets until the targets have reached their outturn dates.
	The full details of how PSA targets have evolved between the 2002 and 2004 Spending Reviews will be published on the HM Treasury website on 31 July 2004.

State Pension/Average Weekly Earnings

Alan Hurst: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the (a) state pension for a single person and (b) average weekly earnings were in each year from 1974 to 2003.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Alan Hurst, dated 19 July 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much the (a) state pension for a single person and (b) the average weekly wage earnings were in each year from 1974 to 2003. (184495)
	Average earnings are estimated from the New Earnings Survey (NES) and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for NES tables. The NES does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	The attached table shows the average gross weekly wage and basic pension for a single person from 1974 to 2003.
	The NES, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in Great Britain. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes, but because of its sampling frame, it has difficulty capturing data on people with very low pay. It is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold.
	
		Average gross weekly earnings, and the basic state pension for a single person, Great Britain, 1974 to 2003 -- £
		
			  Average gross weekly earnings  Basic state pension 
		
		
			 1974 41.7 10.0 
			 1975 54.0 (22)11.6 
			   (23)13.3 
			 1976 64.2 15.3 
			 1977 70.2 17.5 
			 1978 79.1 19.5 
			 1979 89.6 23.3 
			 1980 110.2 27.2 
			 1981 124.9 29.6 
			 1982 136.5 32.9 
			 1983 147.4 34.1 
			 1984 159.3 35.8 
			 1985 171.0 38.3 
			 1986 184.7 38.7 
			 1987 198.9 39.5 
			 1988 218.4 41.2 
			 1989 239.7 43.6 
			 1990 263.1 46.9 
			 1991 284.7 52.0 
			 1992 304.8 54.2 
			 1993 317.3 56.1 
			 1994 325.7 57.6 
			 1995 337.6 58.9 
			 1996 351.6 61.2 
			 1997 367.6 62.5 
			 1998 385.8 64.7 
			 1999 401.5 66.8 
			 2000 419.7 67.5 
			 2001 444.2 72.5 
			 2002 464.7 75.5 
			 2003 475.8 77.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Average gross weekly earnings are for adult full-time employees whose pay for the survey period was unaffected by absence. For the years 1974 to 1982 the estimates shown are for men aged 21 and over, and women aged 18 and over.
	2. The basic state pension was increased in the following months
	1974—July
	1975—(22) April and (23) November
	1976—1985 November
	1986—July
	1987—2003 April.
	Source:
	ONS New Earnings Survey.

STEPS Agreement

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 15 June 2004, Official Report, column 835W, on the STEPS agreement, in respect of what costs were the payments in excess of the annual charge of £170 million made to Mapeley STEPS Ltd. in each year to April (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004.

Dawn Primarolo: The £170 million, mentioned within the NAO report, relates to Facility price only and is an estimated annual charge only. The difference in the actual Facility Price payments and the total payments to Mapeley STEPS Contractor are for services and pass through costs provided for in the contract such as major works, minor works and utilities.
	The data for years to April 2002 and 2003 have been routinely archived and therefore cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. However, for the year to April 2004 the data are available for the Inland Revenue. The amounts that account for contract expenditure in addition to the Facility Prices are as follows:
	
		2003–04
		
			  Amount (£000) 
		
		
			 Major works 25,378 
			 Utilities 12,728 
			 Minor works and services 12,536 
			 VAT on rent 10,163 
			 New services for existing facilities 2,244 
			 Total 63,049

STEPS Agreement

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 15 June, Official Report, column 835W, on the STEPS agreement, what his present estimate is of the total payments over the 20 years' contract that will be paid to Mapeley STEPS Ltd. for the Chancellor's departments.

Dawn Primarolo: In their report on the STEPS deal, the NAO estimated that the Departments would pay Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. some £1,500 million over the 20 years of the contract. This relates to the major contract price element (the facility price) for serviced accommodation. The NAO noted that this cost reflected the Departments anticipated requirements which may vary over time.
	Taking this uncertainty into account, the figure contained in the NAOs report remains a reasonable estimate of the likely total Facility Price payments due to Mapeley over 20 years.
	In addition to this the contract provides a flexible framework in which we are able to transact with Mapeley to provide a range of services including, utilities, business rates, and major and minor building works. Under the contract the cost of these additional services are charged on to the departments separately and will vary according to demand.

STEPS Agreement

Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 15 June 2004, Official Report, column 835W, on the STEPS agreement, whether the payments made to Mapeley STEPS Ltd. in each year to April (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004 were provided for in the contract which commenced on 2 April 2001.

Dawn Primarolo: The Departments made payments that were provided for in the contract and due to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. in each of the years 2002, 2003 and 2004. By its nature any serviced accommodation contract provides a flexible framework for provision of a variety of services. In the case of the STEPS contract the Departments are able to transact with Mapeley to call off services including the provision of Major and Minor change works and the payment of Utilities. These are in addition to the fixed facility payment element due under the contract for serviced accommodation.

Tax Credits

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the cost in this financial year of disregarding maintenance payments for the purposes of calculating working tax credit and child tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 28 June 2004
	Maintenance payments are disregarded from income for the purposes of calculating tax credit awards. The cost of the child and working tax credit is given in tabled C8 and C11 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 2004 (HC 301).

Tax Credits (Civil Partnerships Bill)

Chris Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what savings on tax credits he anticipates making once the Civil Partnership Bill is introduced for, and the living together test is extended to, same-sex couples.

Dawn Primarolo: The Civil Partnerships Bill is expected to have a negligible effect on the cost of tax credits.

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The figures are presented in the following table. All travel is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Ministerial Code.
	
		£000
		
			 Departments/Agencies 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 HM Treasury(24) 1,069 1,455 1,619 1,718 1,340 1,839 1,944 
			 Debt Management Office1, 2 — 9 26 9 17 25 36 
			 Office of Government Commerce(26) — — — 1,110 1,106 1,047 1,171 
			 OGCBuying. Solutions(27) — — — — 413 494 644 
			 Valuation Office Agency(24) 3,700 3,320 3,580 3,530 3,300 3,550 3,750 
			 HM Customs and Excise(28) 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 4,005 5,002 6,200 
			 Inland Revenue(24) 14,509 17,506 26,489 28,077 31,941 35,230 37,335 
			 Royal Mint(24) 456 380 455 503 490 466 536 
			 National Savings and Investments 805 755 191 259 295 311 273 
			 Office of National Statistics 1,671 1,784 2,425 2,661 2,550 2,846 3,314 
			 Government Actuary's Department 80 71 95 89 88 97 92 
		
	
	(24) Figures include subsistence, as travel could only be disaggregated at disproportionate cost.
	(25) The DMO did not exist as a separate body prior to 1998–99.
	(26) OGC have provided figures from their date of inception—2000.
	(27) OGCBuying.Solutions have provided figures from their date of inception—2001.
	(28) Figures between 1997–2000 show approximate spend on Rail, Air and Ferry prior to external Contract. Other figures reflect spend on Contract, as off-Contract spend or business mileage could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost.

Unemployment Rates (Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were unemployed in Havering in (a) 1997, (b) 1999, (c) 2001 and (d) 2003.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Andrew Rosindell, dated 19 July 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in Havering. I am replying in his absence. (184253)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	The attached Table 1 gives the LFS estimates of the number of people unemployed in the Havering Local Authority area in the twelve months ending in February of the years 1997, 1999,2001 and 2003.
	As with any statistical sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
	ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas. The attached Table 2 gives the annual average number of JSA claimants who are resident in the Havering Local Authority area for the years 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003.
	
		Table 1: Number of unemployed people, Havering local authority, years as shown
		
			 Year(29) Thousand 
		
		
			 1997 7 
			 1999(30) 5 
			 2001 2 
			 2003 3 
		
	
	(29) 12-month period ending in February of the year shown.
	(30) Figures not yet adjusted to take account of 2001 Census data.
	Sources:
	1. ONS Labour Force Survey.
	2. Local Area Datasets.
	
		Table 2: Annual average number of jobseekers' allowance (JSA) claimants, Havering local authority, years as shown
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 4,286 
			 1999 3,329 
			 2001 2,315 
			 2003 2,518 
		
	
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Administrative system.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money was spent on advertising and promotional literature for her Department's initiatives, broken down by year since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The Department has not spent any money on promotional advertising in this period. The spend on departmental publications and events since 1997 broken down by year is as follows:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 252,766 
			 1998–99 345,800 
			 1999–2000 522,399 
			 2000–01 532,609 
			 2001–02 324,768 
			 2002–03 392.963 
			 2003–04 (31)537,743 
		
	
	(31) Provisional pending final annual accounts

Ancient Monument Damage

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate the Department has made of the number of scheduled ancient monuments that have been damaged by (a) illicit metal-detecting and (b) looting in each of the last five years.

Estelle Morris: The DCMS does not keep statistics of this nature centrally. However, English Heritage is in the process of designing a system that will compile and record this type of information.

Archaeological Thefts

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many prosecutions there have been for theft of artefacts from archaeological sites in each of the last five years.

Estelle Morris: This information is not currently available. English Heritage, however, is in the process of designing a data system that will compile and record these statistics centrally.

Departmental Administration Costs

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost was of printing her Department's headed notepaper in (a) 1997–98 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: A record of expenditure at this level of detail within the overall stationery budget for 1997–98 is no longer available. The expenditure on headed notepaper in 2003–04, the last full year for which information is available, was £3,500.

Departmental Annual Report

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many copies of her Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication costs and (b) sales revenue were.

Richard Caborn: The costs relating to DCMS annual reports since 1997 are set out in the table. Sales revenues are a matter for TSO and do not fall to the Department.
	
		£
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Design, typesetting and pdfs etc. n/a 38,664 46,142 40,212 45,144 56,105 45,524 40,813 
			 Print (buy back copies from TSO) n/a 16,800 25,000 18,310 24,648 24,774 (32)18,140 (32)16,187 
			 Number of copies sold n/a 687 592 531 576 483 700 500 
			 Number of copies printed n/a 1,600 1,600 2,000 2,000 2,000 1,500 1,500 
			 Total — 55,464 71,142 59,170 70,325 (33)81,449 63,744 57,000 
		
	
	(32) DCMS was responsible for the print for the 2003 and 2004 annual reports as this was found to be a more cost effective option than using TSO.
	(33) The costs for the 2002 annual report included the development of a new design template which the Department has followed for three years.

Departmental Publications (Storage)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located.

Richard Caborn: DCMS does not hold any publications in storage. Departmental policy is to print sufficient copies for the identified audience for each publication in order to be as cost effective as possible. Wherever possible we also refer people to the DCMS website where all publications are available free.
	The retention and storage of any DCMS publications produced by TSO are a matter for the publisher.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many cases against her Department, the agencies for which it is responsible and its predecessor organisations have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims.

Richard Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Royal Parks Agency have had a total of eight claims issued against them since 1997. Three of these claims were withdrawn before the case was heard by an employment tribunal. There were no costs awarded against (i) respondents or (ii) applicants. Details of the nature of each claim are set out in the table. The total legal costs incurred by the Department and agency of contesting the claims were £166,714.13. Claims brought by one applicant were settled, but the amount of the settlement has been withheld under Exemption 4 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
	
		
			  Nature of claim 
		
		
			 1997 Unfair dismissal 
			 1997 Race discrimination 
			 2000 Sex discrimination 
			 2000 Race discrimination 
			 2001 Victimisation (contrary to the Race Relations Act) 
			 2001 Sex discrimination/victimisation 
			 2002 Sex discrimination 
			 2002 Victimisation (contrary to the Sex Discrimination Act)

Government Art Collection

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will publish the latest valuation of the Government's art collection.

Estelle Morris: It is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the value of the Government art collection, which has no current market valuation. The current monetary value of a work of art can be accurately assessed only at the time of purchase or sale or by professional valuation. In the former case, the collection is not actively traded; in the latter, it would not be justifiable expenditure of public funds to have the whole collection valued professionally.

Healthy Eating in Schools

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list Lottery-funded projects which promote healthy eating in schools.

Estelle Morris: National Lottery funding has been made available through The School Fruit Pilot Programme to support the promotion of healthy eating in schools. This £42 million New Opportunities Fund programme has been rolled out to five regions. The aim of the programme is to help improve the diet of children and to reduce their risk of heart disease and cancer later in life.

Heritage Bodies

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with heritage organisations on their educational programmes and initiatives.

Estelle Morris: DCMS has been working on a range of different projects with various Heritage organisations in order to embed core policies at the heart of their activity to increase access and engagement, especially to children and young people, and to those who feel excluded from enjoying the historic environment.
	English Heritage's (EH's) educational programmes and initiatives are included within its Funding Agreement with DCMS, which includes agreement to:
	implement a new Education, Events and Outreach Strategy
	increase the number of educational visits to EH sites from 478.5k to 508k per annum
	increase the resources available to schools and to independent learners
	assess the extent of informal learning currently achieved and inform future activity
	initiate with others the national coordination of traditional building skills training
	EH has set up a new outreach team to engage audiences who have traditionally felt excluded from visiting the historic environment. This will include working with the Civic Trust to develop Heritage Open Days.
	In August 2003 DCMS/DfES set up a Joint Advisory Committee on Built Environment Education (JACBEE) to improve the profile and use of the built environment as a learning resource for all. JACBEE will be making its recommendations to Ministers later this summer.
	The Department has also supported the Attingham Trust's project to assess the provision of learning opportunities in the historic environment sector. The report titled Opening Doors: Learning in the Historic Environment was published in June and surveys education and interpretation in historic buildings and sites today in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
	In partnership with DfES we have also been developing a new Museums and Galleries Strategy to unlock the full potential of museums and galleries to support education and learning. This process has involved discussion and consultation with the museums and galleries sector on the content and priorities for the strategy. The strategy is due to be published later this year.
	On 25 March 2004 we hosted a World Heritage Site Education Conference at Kew Gardens to provide a forum for site managers and education officers at UK World Heritage Sites to share best practice and experiences. We are currently developing an action plan for an overall World Heritage Site Education programme.

Licence Holders Database

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to introduce a national electronic database for individual pub licence holders.

Richard Caborn: The Licensing Act 2003 requires each licensing authority to keep a register containing, among other things, a record of each personal licence, club premises certificate and premises licence issued by it and each temporary event notice received by it. The Act allows the Secretary of State to arrange for these duties conferred on licensing authorities to be discharged by means of one or more central registers. Officials are currently working with local authorities and their representatives to examine ways in which a central register might be developed.

Metal-detecting

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the extent of illicit metal-detecting; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: The DCMS does not keep statistics like this centrally. However, through the excellent work of both the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Treasure Valuation Committee, metal detectorists and archaeologists are working more closely together than ever before.

Ministerial Travel

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total cost of air travel between Northern Ireland and Great Britain was for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the Department in the latest year for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: Departmental expenditure on air travel between Northern Ireland and Great Britain for the financial year 2003–04 was (a) £683 for Ministers and (b) £3,269 for officials.

Museums/Heritage Bodies Review

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to undertake a review of heritage and museum organisations reporting to her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: We have no current plans to review museum organisations, but we are planning to consult the museum sector later this year on a range of museum policy issues.
	On heritage organisations, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 12 July 2004, Official Report, columns 897–98W, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

National Lottery

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of total National Lottery income has been distributed to good causes in each year of the Lottery's existence.

Estelle Morris: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  Total good cause income (£000) Total annual good drawdown (£000) Drawdown as a percentage of good cause income 
		
		
			 1994–95 298,580 6,238 2.09 
			 1995–96 1,535,966 165,212 10.76 
			 1996–97 1,587,759 527,387 33.22 
			 1997–98 1,952,219 1,087,067 55.68 
			 1998–99 1,918,906 1,830,548 95.40 
			 1999–2000 1,766,394 1,908,458 108.04 
			 2000–01 1,772,839 1,855,091 104.64 
			 2001–02 1,842,233 1,709,559 92.80 
			 2002–03 1,591,781 1,892,798 118.91 
			 2003–04(34) 1,390,236 1,910,472 137.42 
			 2004–051, 2 195,327 309,263 158.33 
		
	
	(34) These figures have not been subject to final audit.
	(35) YTD
	The figure for total income includes income from the Lottery games and also investment returns on balances held.

Policies (Environmental Impact)

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many new policy proposals or significant changes in policy were produced in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals.

Estelle Morris: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Regional Cultural Consortiums

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) running costs and (b) total expenditure of each regional cultural consortium has been in each year since its creation.

Richard Caborn: The total annual expenditure from DCMS funds of each regional cultural consortium since their creation is given in the table. These advisory non-departmental public bodies do not at present directly employ any staff and the Department does not currently distinguish between running costs and other expenditure. Most consortium expenditure is allocated on research and projects designed to enhance cultural co-operation and services in the regions. Consortiums may also receive some support from other regional cultural partners.
	
		Regional cultural consortiums annual expenditure, from DCMS funds -- £
		
			 Regional cultural consortium 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2 
		
		
			 Eastern 388 26,358 31,621 110,150 180,641 
			 East Midlands 857 34,366 15,927 108,880 141,267 
			 North East 1,355 41,855 32,415 92,952 197,326 
			 North West 230 21,995 32,890 93,686 207,915 
			 South East 968 20,229 36,929 30,242 204,862 
			 South West 4,823 33,609 22,043 152,725 205,988 
			 West Midlands 1,613 31,089 6,097 120,100 223,217 
			 Yorkshire 829 29,800 17,326 131,450 208,324 
		
	
	(36) The regional cultural consortiums were established in October 1999
	(37) latest available figures with some amounts still to accrue

Subtitling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans her Department has to increase the number of television channels which are regulated for subtitling.

Estelle Morris: None. Section 303 of the Communications Act 2003 establishes a duty on Ofcom to draw up a code relating to the provision for deaf and visually impaired people. Section 303 applies to all digital terrestrial, digital satellite and digital cable channels except the BBC, which is instead brought within the scope of the code by way of the BBC Agreement. Exclusions from the application of the code are a matter for Ofcom, taking into account in particular certain matters specified in the Act designed to balance the costs and difficulty of provision with the extent of the benefit to those with sensory impairments. Ofcom have consulted on their code, including proposed exemptions, and I understand that they propose to announce their conclusions shortly.

Subtitling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the yearly interim targets are for subtitling for the coming years that have been set by the Office of Communications.

Estelle Morris: The matter raised is the responsibility of Ofcom, as independent regulator. Accordingly, DCMS officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Tourism

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much revenue she estimates tourism has generated for (a) Somerset and (b) the South West region in the last five years for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: The information is as follows.
	(a) The available figures for tourism expenditure in Somerset are shown in the table. Figures for tourism day trips are only available at regional level.
	
		Tourism expenditure in Somerset by year(38) -- £ million
		
			 Type of tourism 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Overnight stays by overseas residents 113 125 108 113 87 
			 Overnight stays by domestic residents (39)n/a 293 416 357 nya 
			 Tourism day trips by domestic residents n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a=not available
	nya=not yet available
	(38) Sample sizes at this level of detail will be small which means that the estimates will be subject to a high margin of error. Particular caution should therefore be exercised when comparing any two of the estimates.
	(39) Figures for overnight stays by domestic tourists are taken from the UK Tourism Survey. Comparable figures at regional level prior to 2000 are not available due to a major change in survey methodology.
	Sources:
	International Passenger Survey
	UK Tourism Survey.
	(b) The available figures for tourism expenditure in the South West region are shown in the second table.
	
		Tourism expenditure in the South West region by year(40) -- £ million
		
			 Type of tourism 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Overnight stays by overseas residents 694 734 634 741 663 
			 Overnight stays by domestic residents (41)n/a 3,122 3,291 3,901 nya 
			 Tourism day trips by domestic residents n/a n/a n/a 2,100 n/a 
			 Total n/a n/a n/a 6,742 n/a 
		
	
	n/a=not available
	nya=not yet available
	(40) Sample sizes at this level of detail will be small which means that the estimates will be subject to a high margin of error. Particular caution should therefore be exercised when comparing any two of the estimates.
	(41) Figures for overnight stays by domestic tourists are taken from the UK Tourism Survey. Comparable figures at regional level prior to 2000 are not available due to a major change in survey methodology.
	Sources:
	International Passenger Survey
	UK Tourism Survey
	GB Leisure Day Visits Survey.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Fireworks Act

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made introducing the provisions contained in the Fireworks Act 2003; and what the time scale is for introduction of the outstanding provisions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Following the close of the consultation on 2 July 2004, Regulations were laid before Parliament on 16 July 2004 and introduce, with some minor amendments, the Regulations that were originally proposed in the consultation document.
	The Regulations will come into force on 7 August 2004—with the exception of regulation 9 (licensing of suppliers) and regulation 11 (importation of fireworks). These latter two measures will come into force on 1 January 2005 to allow time for enforcement bodies to set up an effective system of administration and enforcement.

Nuclear Power

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the reasons for the difficulties encountered by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security in security clearing United States nationals brought over by British Nuclear Fuels; and what steps have been taken to ameliorate the problem.

Stephen Timms: There is no central agency in the United States to which the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) can turn to establish if an individual has security clearance. British Nuclear Fuels are aware that the devolved administrative arrangements in the US can make the verification process difficult and time-consuming.

Public Relations

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the salary costs to the Department were for employees working in public relations and publicity in each year since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: The information required is not held in the format requested and could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Retread Tyre Industry

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on recent discussions her Department has had with the retread tyre industry.

Stephen Timms: Officials regularly meet representatives of the retread tyre industry at which a broad range of issues are discussed, both specific to that industry and in respect of used tyre disposal and recovery more generally.
	Earlier this year, a study commissioned and funded by DTI, and taken forward in partnership with the Retread Manufacturers Association, was completed. This examined market barriers for key stakeholders in retread tyre markets, and is intended to provide a tool that retreaders can draw on to help promote their product. I will arrange for a copy to be sent to the hon. Member and for a copy to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Small Business

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent steps her Department has taken to help people start their own business.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government Action Plan for Small Business published in January 2004 sets out a series of actions government is taking to help people start their own businesses. This builds upon the provision from the Business Link network of high quality information advice and support. The Business Link Network assisted 170,000 people last year (in England) to start businesses. New actions being taken include:
	A programme of Enterprise Show activities: The objective is to encourage higher levels of entrepreneurship particularly among under-represented groups and people from disadvantaged areas. These activities taking place across England are being co-ordinated by the Regional Development Agencies.
	The establishment of the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship: This has been established to raise the profile of entrepreneurship and starting a business as a viable career option for graduates. The objective is to increase the number of graduates who consider starting their own businesses.

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

Patricia Hewitt: The costs of travel and travel related expenditure for civil servants in the Department of Trade and Industry and its Agencies were as follows:
	
		
			 Financial Year Core Department (£000s) Agencies (£000s) 
		
		
			 1998–99 10,498 3,588 
			 1999–00 10,201 3,926 
			 2000–01 11,466 3,762 
			 2001–02 10,526 4,305 
			 2002–03 11,815 4,806 
			 2003–04 (provisional) 12,135 4,884 
		
	
	All travel complied with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code. Data for 1997–98 are archived and so are only available at disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Afghan Government on stopping violence against women registering to vote in their country's elections; and what military assistance the UK is providing to help prevent violence.

Mike O'Brien: It is important to the UK and the rest of the international community to support the Afghan Government's efforts to provide security so both men and women can freely exercise their vote. To date over six million people have registered to vote, out of some nine million who are eligible. Around 38 per cent. of those registered are women. The provision of adequate security to enable women to exercise their political, social and economic rights is an important component of the FCO-DFID Gender Strategy for Afghanistan, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
	The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is assisting the voter registration process and will provide enhanced support to the Afghan authorities in providing security during the election period. The UK provides around 320 personnel to ISAF in Kabul. The two UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Teams and associated Forward Support Base in northern Afghanistan transferred to ISAF authority on 1 July 2004. This will bring a further 260 UK troops into ISAF. UK troops serving with ISAF are also involved in training the new Afghan National Army, units of which will be used to provide election security.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Government have to host events with the aim of promoting bilateral relations with Brazil.

Bill Rammell: In the course of our frequent exchanges with Brazil, we become involved in a range of events, both in the UK and in Brazil, which promote the bilateral relationship. A recent such event was the joint visit to London on 17 and 18 March of the Brazilian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Finance. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer met their Brazilian counterparts on this occasion for talks, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry represented the Government at a dinner for the visitors offered by the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. We fully expect beneficial events such as these to continue regularly and in many different forms.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are for senior members of (a) the Government and (b) the Royal family to visit Brazil in the near future.

Bill Rammell: Foreign engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not our practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel and occasionally not until they are under way.
	There are currently no plans for a senior member of the Royal family to visit Brazil.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government have had with the Brazilian Government about ways to preserve the remaining parts of the Amazon rainforest.

Bill Rammell: We follow closely the issue of environmental protection in Brazil, and discuss it regularly with the Brazilian Government. I met the Brazilian Environment Minister in December 2002 during my first visit to Brazil. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also supports a number of practical projects in Brazil totalling over £350,000 aimed specifically at preserving the Amazon rainforest and which enjoy the full support of the Brazilian Government.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what precautions the Government take to reduce illegal imports from Brazil into the UK.

Bill Rammell: We work closely with the Brazilian Government to combat all forms of illegal trafficking. As part of this effort, we have two Drug Liaison Officers based permanently in Brazil and have also provided equipment and training for Brazilian law enforcement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Drugs and Crime Fund.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of military co-operation there is between the UK and Brazil.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	We engage in a series of armed forces visits, exchanges, joint training and defence staff talks within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation on Defence Matters, signed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence in September 2000, and the Joint Action Plan, signed in 1997 by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the President of Brazil.

Chagos Islands

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultation took place prior to the announcement of the two Orders in Council on 10 June 2004, announced in the written statement of 15 June 2004, Official Report, columns 32–4WS, with (a) Chagossians resident in the United Kingdom and (b) Chagossians resident in Mauritius; and what response he has had from Chagossians following the Orders in Council being made.

Bill Rammell: Before the British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004 and the British Indian Ocean Territory (Immigration) Order 2004 were submitted to Her Majesty the Queen in Council, I and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave very careful consideration to all relevant interests and concerns. There was no prior consultation with Chagossians resident in the United Kingdom or Mauritius.
	A petition by a number of Chagossians in the United Kingdom, raising various points including their wish to resettle in the Chagos islands, was handed in to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 6 July 2004, and a petition by Chagossians resident in Mauritius was handed in to the British High Commission in Port Louis on 13 July 2004.

Chagos Islands

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rights Ilois islanders have to visit Diego Garcia to care for the graves of their ancestors; and what financial support is provided to help their passage from Mauritius for such visits.

Bill Rammell: Following the restoration of full immigration control over the whole of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Chagossians would need a permit in order to visit any part of the Territory. We have made clear that we remain prepared, as we always have been, to assist and finance a visit by a party of Chagossians to the outer islands of the Territory to enable them to visit the graves there of their parents and grandparents. We have further made clear that if there is a request that the itinerary of any such visit should also include the graves on Diego Garcia, we are prepared to make representations to the US authorities about that.

Chagos Islands

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there is a prison or controlled area for holding detainees on Diego Garcia.

Bill Rammell: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell) on 21 June 2004, Official Report, column 1221W.

Chagos Islands

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requirement has been placed upon the United States military as a result of the leasing agreement for Diego Garcia, to ensure the land and aquatic environment of Diego Garcia and other Chagos islands are not damaged by the military activities of the United States; what arrangements are in place to remove military and commercial wastes from the islands; and what consultation he has had with the United States Administration over the adequacy of emergency plans to clean up pollution.

Bill Rammell: There is no leasing agreement in respect of Diego Garcia but, under the relevant treaties concluded with the US Government, the whole of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is set aside for the defence purposes of the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the US Government is entitled to establish and maintain a defence facility on Diego Garcia. The BIOT Government and the US authorities collaborate on all aspects of the conservation and protection of the natural environment of Diego Garcia and, where appropriate, of the outer islands of the Territory. In this context, the US authorities on Diego Garcia have established a Natural Resources Management Plan and they expend considerable resources on environmental conservation. The UK Government attaches considerable importance to the conservation of the natural environment of the Chagos islands and the BIOT Government have ensured that the necessary legislation for this purpose is in place and is enforced, and that relevant international conventions are observed.

Chechnya

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on the situation in Chechnya.

Bill Rammell: We continue to be concerned by the situation in Chechnya. The assassination of Chechen President Kadyrov in May, and the 21 June raids into neighbouring Ingushetia underline the fragility of the situation in the Russian North Caucasus.
	We recognise the genuine security problems Russia faces in Chechnya and the North Caucasus. We support Russia's territorial integrity. Separatist forces carry out many human rights abuses in Chechnya. We have been clear in our condemnation of the appalling terrorist attacks across Russia, which have killed many innocent victims.
	However, these problems can only be resolved through a political rather than military solution. Continuing human rights abuses in Chechnya by federal and local forces can only undermine attempts to advance a genuine political process and reconciliation. Our policy is to regularly raise our concerns over Chechnya with the Russian authorities. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did so recently with Foreign Minister Lavrov, during his visit to Moscow on 6–7 July. I raised similar concerns during my visit to Russia on 6–7 April. In addition, we raise these concerns multilaterally through the EU, OSCE, Council of Europe and UN. We also give significant funding to international organisations and NGOs that provide humanitarian aid in the region.
	The new Chechen presidential elections planned for August will be a fresh opportunity to build up the political process and aid efforts to bring stability to the Republic. We therefore hope the election will be genuinely open and inclusive, a hope we have expressed repeatedly to the Russians.

China

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to improve the UK's relationship with China.

Bill Rammell: We currently enjoy good relations with China.
	A Task Force was set up in September 2003 under my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's leadership to make firm recommendations for action to increase practical co-operation. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in London in May. They issued a joint statement afterwards setting out plans for developing co-operation between the two countries on areas including trade, education, science and technology and the environment. The joint statement also included a commitment to annual summits between the two countries.
	The strength of our relationship allows us to raise sensitive issues of concern, such as human rights, with the Chinese authorities.
	I plan to visit Beijing later this month.

China

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Chinese Government on the police treatment of Christians in custody.

Bill Rammell: We are very concerned about religious freedom in China. We made clear at the last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in May that the prohibition of some religious/spiritual groups, and the legal restrictions placed upon members of others, are tantamount to a denial of their members' freedom of religious belief.
	We also raised our concerns about torture by the Police and prison authorities at the same dialogue round.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised human rights issues with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to the UK in May and I raised human rights issues with the Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhang Zhijun during his visit to the UK in March. We will continue to raise human rights issues with the Chinese Government at every appropriate opportunity.

China

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government has made to the Chinese Government on (a) the detention of house church leader Xu Shaungfu and (b) the recent beating to death by Chinese police of two Christians, Gu Xianggao and Jiang Zongxiu; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are aware of reports of the detention of Xu Shaungfu and the deaths in custody of Gu Xianggao and Jiang Zongxiu. We are monitoring the situation and note reports that the Chinese authorities are investigating the death of Jiang Zongxiu.
	We are very concerned about religious freedom in China. We made clear at the last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in May that the prohibition of some religious/spiritual groups, and the legal restrictions placed upon members of others, are tantamount to a denial of their members' freedom of religious belief. We also raised our concerns about torture and the treatment of prisoners at the same dialogue round.
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised human rights issues with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to the UK in May and I raised human rights issues with the Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhang Zhijun during his visit to the UK in March.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of how the proposed EU package of trade and air links to northern Cyprus will assist in achieving a settlement.

Denis MacShane: The EU package of measures for northern Cyprus is designed to put an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community by facilitating economic growth. We believe that enabling direct trade between northern Cyprus and the rest of the EU is an essential element of that strategy. Furthermore, direct trade will reduce the economic disparity between the north and south of the island and will help to bring the Turkish Cypriots in to line with the EU acquis. Narrowing the economic divide between the north and south will remove a major obstacle to a future settlement to the Cyprus problem.
	Direct air links with northern Cyprus are not covered by the Commission proposals. We are actively looking at this issue.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about his recent discussions with Mr. Talat, leader of the Turkish Cypriots and Mr. Iakovou, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I met Mr. Talat on 1 July. We discussed a number of Cyprus related issues and encouraged Mr. Talat to continue to pursue a pro-EU policy. Mr. Talat assured us that he would continue to work for a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem.
	I met the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 12 July. I briefed him on the recent debates on Cyprus in this House. We also discussed Mr. Talat's recent visit to the UK.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the exclusion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the Kimberley process.

Bill Rammell: The expulsion of the Republic of Congo from the Kimberley Process followed a report by a visiting team drawn from others in the Process on the discrepancy between the Republic of Congo's substantial exports of rough diamonds and its limited production. The report concluded that the Republic of Congo failed to meet agreed minimum common standards and was therefore undermining the credibility of the Kimberley Process. We support the decision to expel and stand ready to consider any request from the Republic of Congo for technical assistance to help it meet the standard required and thereby eventually re-join the Process.

Departmental Annual Report

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many copies of his Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication costs and (b) sales revenue were.

Jack Straw: Production of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Departmental Report 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 cost the Department £24,453. Due to new printing arrangements, these costs to the Department are 25 per cent. lower than for the 2003 Report. Other costs are met by the publisher, The Stationery Office Ltd. (TSO).
	1,900 copies of this year's report were printed of which 1,350 are distributed internally at a price which covers printing costs and 550 copies are retained by TSO. The report is also available free of charge on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 6 May 2004, Official Report, column 1731W, for further details.
	TSO does not divulge its sales revenues, which depend on the extent to which it chooses to sell copies at a discount. Nor does TSO provide the total number of copies printed in previous years. However, the number of copies sold by TSO, and the number supplied to the FCO for internal use, is listed in the table. Statistics for the 1997 edition are not available.
	
		
			 Edition Copies sold by TSO Copies supplied to FCO 
		
		
			 1998 626 1,682 
			 1999 542 1,527 
			 2000 513 1,438 
			 2001 564 1,447 
			 2002 525 1,412 
			 2003 426 1,340 
			 2004 (42)315 1,350 
		
	
	(42) Interim figure. The sales profile for previous years indicates that TSO can expect to sell a further 95 copies, bringing the total for the year to approximately 410.

EU-Israel Association Agreement

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of a suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement on (a) the Israeli and (b) the Palestinian economy.

Denis MacShane: The Government do not believe that suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement would help bring Israel and the Palestinians nearer to a just and lasting negotiated settlement. The Government have therefore made no detailed assessment of the implications of a suspension of the Agreement.

EU-Israel Association Agreement

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU concerning suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Denis MacShane: The Government do not believe that suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement would help bring Israel and the Palestinians nearer to a just and lasting negotiated settlement. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has therefore had no recent discussions with his EU counterparts concerning the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

EU-Israel Association Agreement

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the value in euros of the EU-Israel Association Agreement to the economies of (a) the EU, (b) UK, (c) Israel and (d) Palestine in the last year for which figures are available.

Denis MacShane: The Government do not have estimates of the monetary value of the EU/Israel Association Agreement to any of its parties. A large part of the Agreement's benefit to Israel lies in the confidence and sense of normality it provides to domestic business and foreign workers. In other circumstances the economic benefit the Agreement brings to Israel would also benefit the Palestinian economy. At present, the effects of the conflict more than nullify that benefit.

EU-Israel Association Agreement

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with members of the Quartet concerning the effects of suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Denis MacShane: The Government supports the work of the Quartet (UN, US, Russia, EU) in supporting Israel and the Palestinians to return to a political process in order to reach a just and lasting negotiated settlement. We do not believe that suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement would help in this regard. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has therefore not discussed the effects of suspension of the EU/Israel Association Agreement with other Quartet members.

Hong Kong

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy on universal suffrage for the people of Hong Kong.

Bill Rammell: We have consistently said that we would hope to see early progress towards the Basic Law's ultimate aim of universal suffrage for the election of the Chief Executive and Legislative Council at a pace in line with the wishes of the people of Hong Kong. We have made this position clear on many occasions to the Chinese authorities and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

Iran

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Government of Iran on the imprisonment of Ebrahim Khodabandeh and Jamil Bassam who had previously been granted asylum in the UK.

Bill Rammell: We have raised the imprisonment of Ebrahim Khodabandeh and Jamil Bassam with the Iranian Government many times, on human rights grounds. We have urged the Iranian authorities to ensure that the men are well treated and, if charged, given a fair and open trial with recourse to proper legal representation. We have no right of consular access to the two men, who are not British nationals. But we have encouraged the Iranian authorities to allow international monitoring visits.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the bounty payment in respect of the capture of Saddam Hussein; what the source of the bounty money was; what advice Coalition partners received about the legality of the bounty; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The US Government offered a reward for information leading to the capture of Saddam Hussein under the State Department Rewards for Justice programme. Details of this programme are on the US State Department website: www.state.gov. The legal basis of these rewards is a matter for the US Government.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the United Kingdom's representative in Iraq has had about the bounty for the capture of the Jordanian militant, Zarqawi; what the sources of the money for the bounty is; what advice was taken by Coalition partners about the legality of any such bounty; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The US Government offered rewards for information leading to the capture of Saddam and Zarqawi under the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme. Details of this programme are on the US State Department website: www.state.gov. The legal basis of these rewards is a matter for the US Government. Our ambassador to Iraq regularly discusses a wide range of issues on Iraq with his interlocutors.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on terrorist attacks in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: Terrorism has not derailed the transition of power to the new Iraqi Interim Government which took office on 28 June, although attacks have continued. The most significant of these in recent days was on 14 July when a terrorist car bomb killed nine Iraqis queuing to enter the international zone, and there has also been an increase in terrorist activity in Samarra. Internal security is now the responsibility of the IIG supported by the Multinational Force (MNF) in accordance with UNSCR 1546. The IIG is determined to tackle terrorism, and Iraqi security forces have been engaged in a number of successful operations in Baghdad and elsewhere. The Iraqi authorities are also committed to building up its counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency forces. We continue to be engaged in supporting these efforts.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the projected daily output of Iraqi oil is (a) for the rest of 2004 and (b) for 2005.

Bill Rammell: The Iraqi authorities have responsibility for setting their own oil production targets. Iraq has a target of increasing its daily output of oil to 2.8–3.0 million barrels by the end of 2004. The Iraqi authorities will aim to ensure sustainable increases in production for 2005 and for subsequent years, to a level that is commensurate with their economic and other developmental needs.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Iraq's latest daily oil output is.

Bill Rammell: Over the period 2–8 July, the most recent for which data is available, Iraq's daily average oil production was 2.122 million barrels per day.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current size is of the Iraqi army; and what the forecast size is for July 2005.

Bill Rammell: According to statistics provided by the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) the projected strength for the Iraqi Army is 36,000 personnel. At present, it numbers 7,116 with a further 2,638 currently under training. The aim is for the army to reach full operational capability by January 2005.
	These figures do not include the Iraqi National Guard (ING), formerly the Iraq Civil Defence Corps. It currently numbers 38,000 and is due to reach 50,000 by December 2004. The ING has officially been subsumed into the Iraqi armed forces but is a distinct entity from the regular army.

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in negotiations with other countries to which Iraq owes money on the Iraqi debt.

Bill Rammell: The UK's objective is a fair and sustainable solution to Iraq's debt problems. The G7 is united in agreeing that Iraq's debt is unsustainable and that Iraq needs substantial debt reduction. Many other creditors have associated themselves with this analysis. The Government are continuing to discuss this issue with creditors, including with those in the Paris Club.

Iraq Survey Group

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he is putting in place (a) to make available paper copies of the final report of the Iraq Survey Group on its publication and (b) to place the text on a Government website; and what plans he has to publicise its publication.

Bill Rammell: There is no set timetable for reporting by the Iraq Survey Group, nor is there any deadline for the completion of the Group's task.
	At present, the Government have not drawn up any plans for publication of the Group's final report but, as with the Group's interim reports, the Government intend to publish as much of the final report as is consistent with the need to protect any operationally-sensitive material.

Israel/Palestine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning (a) the killing of Dr. Khaled Saled and his son and (b) the destruction by shelling of a residential block in Nablus on 6 July.

Bill Rammell: Israel is entitled to take steps to protect itself from terrorist attack, but these should be within international law and neither disproportionate nor excessive. Actions which result in the death or injury of civilians and the demolition of Palestinian homes and property are deeply disturbing. We have frequently called on the Israeli government to stop such action. We have made representations to the Israeli Government at every level about its actions in the occupied territories. We have not made specific representations concerning the killing of Dr Saled and his son, or the 6 July shelling in Nablus.

Israel/Palestine

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answers of 28 June 2004, Official Report, columns 129–30W, on Israel/Palestine, what steps he will take to ensure that Israel complies with the UK Government's policies.

Bill Rammell: The UK will continue to pursue its policy towards Israel in the areas raised, through bilateral dialogue with the Israelis and through the activities of the European Union, the Quartet (UN, US, Russia, EU) and the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly.

Israel/Palestine

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's response is to the ruling of the International Court on the route of the Israeli wall; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 16 July 2004
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion with his EU counterparts on 12 July. We have repeatedly said that we recognise Israel's legitimate security concerns. But we consider the building of the barrier on Occupied Territory to be illegal. The EU has said the same; so has the UN General Assembly. We continue to call upon the Israeli Government to re-route the barrier away from Occupied Territory. Similarly we call on the Palestinian Authority to meet their commitments on security. A draft resolution is being considered by the UN General Assembly. If it is put to a vote we shall vote according to the merits of the resolution.

Maritime Archaeology

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to assist the maritime archaeology of sunken British vessels in the waters off Commonwealth countries, with particular reference to wrecks off St. Kitts being researched by the St. Kitts Maritime Archaeological Project.

Bill Rammell: We have no current plans to assist the St. Kitts Maritime Archaeological Project.

Milosevic Trial

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the Milosevic trial at The Hague; and if he will make it his policy to press for the trial to be completed.

Bill Rammell: The Prosecution finished presenting its case in the Milosevic trial on 25 February.
	The defence stage of the trial began on 5 July. Milosevic wishes to undertake his own defence, but there are concerns about his health. Given these concerns the trial chamber has decided to adjourn until 19 July with a further adjournment from 21 July until 31 August in order to allow the defendant additional time to prepare his case. The trial chamber has indicated it may be necessary to assign defence counsel to assist or represent Milosevic should he be unfit to do so himself. Full details can be found on the ICTY website at http://www.un.org/icty/milosevic/trialc/order-e/040706.htm.
	The UK continues to believe it is important that Milosevic, like others indicted by the ICTY, must stand trial for the crimes of which he is accused. We trust the Tribunal will find a fair and satisfactory solution to allow the completion of this trial.

North Cyprus

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Turkish Government on a reduction in the number of Turkish troops based in northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: Our ambassador in Ankara has a close working relationship with the Turkish Government. During his dialogue with the Turkish Government on the UN Secretary General's settlement plan the issue of Turkish troops was discussed.
	Our fundamental goal remains to work for a Cyprus settlement. The Turkish Government gave its full support to the UN Secretary General's settlement plan. This included provision for the phased withdrawal of Turkish troops down to a militarily insignificant level.

North Cyprus

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had at his recent meeting in London with the Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister of the occupied area of northern Cyprus, as to a reduction in the number of Turkish troops based in Northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I discussed a wide range of issues with Mr. Talat, including Turkish troops in northern Cyprus. Mr. Talat assured us that he would continue to work for a settlement to the Cyprus problem. As my hon. Friend knows, the UN Secretary General's proposals for a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem included a provision for a substantial phased withdrawal of Turkish troops.
	It is a matter of regret that those proposals were not accepted by the Greek Cypriots and troops remain. It remains the view of the Government that a comprehensive settlement as set out by the UN Secretary General offers the best means of addressing all aspects of the Cyprus problem, including the presence of Turkish troops.

North Korea

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential threat posed to international security by North Korea.

Bill Rammell: We believe that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been pursuing two separate programmes for the production of fissile material, through the enrichment of uranium and the processing of plutonium. We view this as a serious potential threat to international security. We also remain very concerned at the threat to international security posed by DPRK's willingness to transfer ballistic missile technology and systems to other states. We support the objective of the continuing six-party talks: a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, and believe that the comprehensive, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes is necessary to assure this objective.

Saddam Hussein

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the United Kingdom was consulted by (a) the United States Administration and (b) the interim Iraqi Government in respect of the arrangements made for the first appearance in court of Saddam Hussein; whether he was made aware in advance that only US media would be permitted in the court for the former President of Iraq's appearance; and whether he plans to consult the interim Iraqi Government over the access to the court by other than US media companies in future hearings of former members of the Iraq Government.

Bill Rammell: UK, US and Iraqi officials discussed in advance the media arrangements for the arraignment of Saddam Hussein. The media representatives present in the courtroom were there as a press pool. They included representatives of Al-Jazeera (pan-Arab satellite television) and Al-Iraqiya (Iraqi satellite television).
	We have also been consulted on the arrangements for the next court appearance. The Baghdad press corps have themselves selected the proposed media pool.

Terrorism

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance he has issued to British citizens working in countries where there is a high risk of terrorist attacks, concerning their personal safety.

Denis MacShane: Travel advice for 217 countries, including those where there is a high threat from terrorism, is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website: www.fco.gov.uk. This provides practical objective, accurate and up-to-date information including on personal safety, so that British nationals can make informed decisions about travelling abroad. Our diplomatic missions also communicate such advice to British expatriates through wardens' networks overseas. In October 2003 the FCO and the Confederation of British Industry launched the Security Information Service for Businesses Overseas (SISBO), which provides British companies with information on political and security risks in overseas markets.

Visas

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas were granted in (a) Romania and (b) Bulgaria between January and July 2004.

Chris Mullin: The figures requested are only available for the period from 1 January to 30 June 2004. Between these dates 15,874 visas were issued at our embassy in Bucharest, Romania and 13,496 visas were issued at our embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria.

West Bank/Gaza Strip

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on bilateral relations with the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Bill Rammell: Through our Consulate-General in Jerusalem and the British Information Service Office in Gaza we conduct discussions with the Palestinian Authority on a range of issues. These crucially include how the UK can support the Palestinian Authority in meeting its obligations under the Roadmap; work with the Palestinian Authority to build its capacity on security is one such example. My noble Friend Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean last visited the Palestinian Authority in January 2004. The Consulate-General offers a full visa and consular service in Jerusalem and the Occupied Territories.
	The UK is a significant bilateral donor of development assistance in the Occupied Territories. The Department for International Development has planned expenditure of £16.15 million on assistance to the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian civil society, and a further £12.35 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees in the current financial year.

Zimbabwe

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had about the (a) political and (b) economic situation in Zimbabwe with other southern African countries.

Chris Mullin: We regularly make our views on Zimbabwe clear to southern African countries. Most recently I discussed Zimbabwe with representatives of a number of African leaders during the African Union Summit from 6 to 8 July in Addis Ababa.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Orders in Council

Llew Smith: To ask the Leader of the House if he will list each occasion when Her Majesty's Government has legislated by way of an Order in Council since 1 May 1997; and what the reason for deciding on this way to legislate was in each case.

Christopher Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
	Her Majesty's Government legislates through Orders in Council either because Parliament has provided for delegated legislation under a particular Act to be made in that way, or because a Prerogative power is being exercised which can be given legislative force in no other way. Not all Orders in Council represent "legislation by Her Majesty's Government", and the task of listing those that do could be carried out only at disproportionate cost. A list of all Orders in Council made since October 2000 can be found, however, on the Privy Council Office website at www.pco.gov.uk.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Civil Emergencies (Voting Arrangements)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what contingency arrangements have been made for casting votes at an election in the event of there being a civil emergency such as a foot and mouth outbreak.

Christopher Leslie: The arrangements for counting votes are the responsibility of the relevant Returning Officer. Guidance on appropriate actions in the event of various emergencies (such as security threats, riot, flood, fire, etc) is issued to Returning Officers before each parliamentary election. Special guidance related to the foot and mouth outbreak was issued before the last general election. An assessment of the need for further advice would be made in the light of the circumstances and the nature of the emergency.

Electoral Fraud

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will set up a committee to investigate allegations of corruption, vote tampering and voter manipulation in the June elections.

Christopher Leslie: The Government have no plan to do so. Some allegations of electoral fraud are already under criminal investigation. In addition, five electoral petitions are before the courts. More generally, the independent Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to report on the European Parliamentary elections. It is also statutorily required to evaluate the operation of the all-postal voting electoral pilots. I understand that the Commission's reports will consider electoral fraud issues.

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department, (b) its predecessor Department and (c) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: Total travel costs, which includes domestic and overseas travel for the Department and covers costs for the Court Service (CS), the Public Guardianship Office (PGO) and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Headquarters (DCA HQ) are set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Period DCA HQ CS PGO Total DCA 
		
		
			 2004–05(43) 556,356 720,660 7,570 1,284,586 
			 2003–04 2,389,149 3,664,272 34,639 6,088,060 
			 2002–03 1,174,209 3,964,961 41,783 5,180,953 
			 2001–02 1,179,355 3,377,593 61,480 4,618,428 
			 2000–01 1,307,772 2,972,788 43,082 4,323,642 
			 1999–2000 1,096,679 3,215,919 28,751 4,341,349 
			 1998–99 903,983 2,696,618 16,934 3,617,535 
		
	
	(43) To 30 June.
	There has been an increase in travel costs for the DCA HQ between 2002–03 and 2003–04, which is mainly due to a change in attribution of costs between the Court Service, PGO and DCA HQ and due to an increase in responsibilities for the Department.
	Information on the previous year is not readily available.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Promotions

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will hold discussions with the alcohol industry and licensed trade, in particular the large pub chains, to encourage the stocking of a range of non-alcoholic beers, lagers and ciders on licensed premises.

Caroline Flint: We are currently having discussions with the industry around the development of the social responsibility scheme for retailers, which was one of the recommendations of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England. This scheme is likely to contain a pledge to consider the pricing policy on non-alcoholic drinks, and to encourage discounting of them. The scheme will also be likely to include a commitment to offering free water and reasonably priced soft drinks in all pubs and clubs.

Asylum Seekers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  on what date his Department agreed a contract with Reliance Monitoring Service to provide a system for tagging individuals seeking asylum; if he will publish a copy of the contract; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the value of the contract with Reliance Monitoring Service to provide a system for tagging individuals seeking asylum is.

Des Browne: The Secretary of State has not let a contract with Reliance Monitoring Services for tagging individuals seeking asylum and residing in Scotland.
	Reliance Monitoring Services Ltd. have been providing electronic monitoring services in the South of England since 1 October 2001 under the terms of a contract with the Home Office and electronic tagging services within the Scottish criminal justice system since 1 May 2002 under the terms of a contact with the Scottish Executive.
	IND plans to pilot the use of electronic monitoring for immigration purposes from the autumn in accordance with clause 36 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Bill.
	The pilot in England and Wales will be run under the existing Home Office contract. A separate procurement exercise is under way to provide services for use by IND in Scotland.

Asylum Seekers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals seeking asylum in the UK and residing in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland will be involved in his Department's pilot scheme to provide a system for tagging individuals seeking asylum.

Des Browne: The pilot will cover up to 200 people for voice recognition and up to 50 people for tagging (including up to 10 on satellite tracking). Numbers will be divided between the three contractors operating under the existing Home Office contract for England and Wales and an interim contractor in Scotland.
	The Immigration and Nationality Directorate has no plans to pilot tagging in Northern Ireland, but will consider the use of electronic monitoring through voice recognition depending on the outcome of the pilots in England and Wales and Scotland.

Asylum Seekers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department consulted the Scottish Executive prior to the awarding of the contract with Reliance Monitoring Service to provide a system for tagging persons seeking asylum.

Des Browne: The Secretary of State has not awarded a contract to Reliance Monitoring Services for the electronic monitoring of individuals seeking asylum and residing in Scotland.
	Home Office officials met officials from the Scottish Executive in Glasgow in January and have kept them fully informed of plans to procure electronic monitoring services in Scotland.

Child Trafficking

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the first inter-ministerial meeting on child trafficking will be held.

Des Browne: There is close co-operation across Government to tackle the crime of human trafficking. For example, Reflex the multi-agency task force set up to co-ordinate intelligence and law enforcement in a response to organised immigration crime, including human trafficking, brings together all the key agencies and Departments. The Government Departments represented on Reflex include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Home Office.
	The Home Office and the Department for Education and Skills work closely on the subject of child trafficking. We are jointly considering the results from the Reflex funded multi-agency operation, Paladin Child. This involved the Metropolitan police, the Immigration Service, social workers from Hillingdon Social Services and secondees from NSPCC. The operation risk assessed children arriving at Heathrow airport without their parents or legal guardians and social services followed up those considered to be at risk. The operation did not uncover any evidence of child trafficking. However, the report did make a number of recommendations related to child protection.
	This issue of human trafficking is currently within the remit of a number of ministerial groups. Ministers are currently considering whether a ministerial group focussing specifically on human trafficking would be of benefit in taking forward the agenda in this area.
	
		Unaccompanied 1,2,3 children, aged 17 or under, applying for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality, 1999 to 2003
		
			 Nationality 1999 4 2000 4 2001 4 2002 5,6 2003 6 
		
		
			 Albania 125 95 85 300 145 
			 Czech Republic 30 20 20 10 — 
			 Macedonia — — 100 110 55 
			 Moldova * 5 35 145 5 
			 Poland 45 15 25 10 60 
			 Romania 85 40 50 130 5 
			 Russia 5 * 5 10 170 
			 SAM 1,520 665 475 725 15 
			 Turkey 115 155 95 85 85 
			 Ukraine * 5 * 5 5 
			 Other former USSR 25 20 10 10 5 
			 Other former Yugoslavia 30 35 80 5 * 
			 Europe other 10 5 — * * 
			 Europe total 1,995 1,055 985 1,545 560 
			   
			 Colombia 20 5 5 5 5 
			 Ecuador 15 5 5 5 5 
			 Jamaica 5 5 * 15 5 
			 Americas other 5 * 5 — 5 
			 Americas total 40 15 20 30 15 
			   
			 Algeria 10 25 20 40 20 
			 Angola 40 100 145 210 115 
			 Burundi 10 20 20 30 60 
			 Cameroon — 5 20 30 20 
			 Congo 5 10 30 25 15 
			 Democratic Republic Congo 35 45 80 145 95 
			 Eritrea 95 85 110 220 125 
			 Ethiopia 55 60 140 140 100 
			 Gambia — — * 5 5 
			 Ghana * 10 5 5 5 
			 Ivory Coast * 5 5 5 10 
			 Kenya 10 10 15 30 25 
			 Nigeria 45 25 35 55 35 
			 Rwanda 35 50 40 65 20 
			 Sierra Leone 65 75 130 110 35 
			 Somalia 190 175 200 345 255 
			 Sudan 5 10 5 15 30 
			 Tanzania * 5 * 5 5 
			 Uganda 10 25 45 105 125 
			 Zimbabwe 5 35 35 90 10 
			 Africa other 10 25 25 70 105 
			 Africa total 630 800 1,115 1,745 1,225 
			   
			 Iran 15 65 25 50 65 
			 Iraq 60 110 180 1,310 220 
			 Middle East other 15 15 20 50 30 
			 Middle East total 90 190 225 1,410 310 
			   
			 Afghanistan 215 300 675 720 235 
			 Bangladesh 5 5 15 60 50 
			 China 165 115 135 260 145 
			 India 15 15 20 60 60 
			 Pakistan 20 25 25 40 45 
			 Sri Lanka 125 170 140 125 15 
			 Vietnam 5 20 90 180 125 
			 Asia other 5 5 5 15 10 
			 Asia total 550 655 1,100 1,460 685 
			   
			 Nationality not known 40 20 25 5 5 
			   
			 Grand total 3,350 2,735 3,470 6,200 2,800 
		
	
	(44) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 with *=1 or 2.
	(45) Unaccompanied at point of arrival, aged (or if no proof) determined to be 17 or under and not known to be joining a relative or guardian in the United Kingdom.
	(46) Figures exclude disputed age cases.
	(47) May excluded some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices.
	(48) Not comparable with manual counts data prior to 2002.
	(49) Provisional figures.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 24 May from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. P. Cookson.

David Blunkett: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 13 July 2004.

Data Collection/Sharing (Children)

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken recently to improve the collection of data on children entering the country.

Des Browne: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The Immigration Service does not routinely collect data on children arriving in the United Kingdom. It does however act as the first information point to identify children who may be at risk when they arrive in the United Kingdom.
	The overwhelming majority of children arriving in the UK do so legitimately and safely and give no cause for concern. However, if an immigration officer had concerns about a child arriving in the UK, mechanisms are in place to ensure that such information is collected and shared with relevant agencies, such as social services.

Data Collection/Sharing (Children)

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the data collected on children entering the country are shared with other relevant agencies.

Des Browne: holding answer 14 July 2004
	The Immigration Service does not routinely collect data on children arriving in the United Kingdom. But it has recently introduced a number of measures aimed at ensuring that children at risk are identified on arrival and, where appropriate, other agencies informed.
	Child Protection Officers are based at Heathrow Airport and at the Croydon Asylum Screening Unit in order to strengthen the links between the police and the Immigration Service to counter child trafficking and problems associated with unaccompanied minors. In addition social services have recently placed staff at the Croydon Asylum Screening Unit to work alongside Immigration Service staff advising them on child welfare issues. A scoping study is also being undertaken to examine the feasibility of social work teams being based at the major ports of entry.
	The Immigration Service also participated in Operation Paladin Child, initiated by the Metropolitan Police Child Protection Command to define the nature of child migration from non-EU countries to the UK via Heathrow, and which also involved the NSPCC and Hillingdon Social Services. The report into the operation's findings made a number of recommendations, including the creation of multi-agency partnership teams at major ports. The Immigration Service will work with the police and other agencies involved to help implement those recommendations.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the effect on the prevention of terrorism of not requiring foreign nationals coming to the UK for less than three months to have an identity card.

Des Browne: It is well known that terrorists use false and multiple identities to help undertake and finance their activities in the UK and abroad. An identity card scheme would disrupt the use of false identities by terrorist organisations, for example in the money laundering and organised crime, which support their terrorist activities. Such operations are generally perpetrated over long periods of time.
	The Government agrees with Sir John Stevens, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who has said that he has absolutely no doubt that a card scheme would have a significant effect in the war against terrorism.

Immigration Removals

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees under immigration service control have signed forms for return to their home country and are awaiting removal.

Des Browne: Information on the number of detainees awaiting removal to their home country following a request to make a voluntary departure is not recorded by the Home Office. This information could be obtained only by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Immigration Removals

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time was for detainees under immigration service control who have signed forms to return to their home country, in the last period for which figures are available.

Des Browne: Information on the average waiting time for the removal of detainees to their home country following a request to make a voluntary departure is not recorded by the Home Office. This information could be obtained by examination of individual cases files only at disproportionate cost.

Passports

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are to participate in the UK Passport Service biometrics enrolment trial; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The trial began in April and is fully rolled out, functioning at four fixed sites and a mobile unit. It is expected to run for around six months until September when the United Kingdom Passport Service (UKPS) will have enrolled 10,000 people. Up to 2 July, 3,675 people have participated.
	The trial is testing the recording of biometrics and public perceptions.

Police

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed by Northamptonshire police at (a) 1 April 1997 and (b) 1 April 2004.

Hazel Blears: The Northamptonshire police had 1,177 police officers on 31 March 1997. This had increased to 1,234 on 31 December 2003 (the latest published figure). In addition the force had 812 police support staff on 31 March 2003 compared with 554 in March 1997. At the end of March 2004 the force also had 12 Community Support Officers.

Refugee Women (Employment)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the efforts made by (a) the Community Integration Partnership project in the West Midlands and (b) other similar projects to address barriers refugee women face when trying to find employment.

Des Browne: holding answer 14 July 2004
	The Community Integration Partnership (CIP), which was formed as a direct result of a joint partnership between West Midlands Consortium for Asylum Support (WMCARS) and Roselodge Group in March 2003, is currently funded under the Home Office's Refugee Integration Challenge Fund to help refugee women to access training, education and employment. Their main objectives are to address the barriers that many refugee women face in doing so, for instance by obtaining relevant information, confidence building, arranging childcare, and enhancing language skills. It works in close partnership with a range of Government and non-government bodies across the West Midlands which share its commitment to the provision of services to refugee women.

Security Officers (Crime)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British Security Industry Association security officers have been convicted of criminal offences when carrying out their duties in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 16 July 2004
	The information requested is not available. The British Security Industry Association is a professional trade association for the security industry in the UK. Membership of the BSIA is at company rather than individual level.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pensioner Households (Income)

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average income for pensioner households was in each year from 1993 to 2003.

Malcolm Wicks: The following table gives the mean net (after tax, in 2002–03 prices) Before and After Housing Cost income of pensioner units between 1994–95 and 2002–03. Information is based on the Family Resources Survey, which began in 1994–95.
	
		Mean income
		
			  Net BHC Net AHC 
		
		
			 1994–95 189 161 
			 1995–96 188 160 
			 1996–97 199 170 
			 1997–98 202 174 
			 1998–99 208 182 
			 1999–2000 216 189 
			 2000–01 225 202 
			 2001–02 233 210 
			 2002–03 237 214 
		
	
	Note:
	Pensioner units are defined as single (non-cohabiting) people over state pension age (65 and over for men, 60 and over for women) and couples (married and cohabiting) where the man is over pension age.
	Source:
	Pensioners' Income Series 2002–03, in 2002–03 prices.

Child Support

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what factors underlie the decision not to reward parents coming off benefits and into full-time education with the child maintenance bonus under the old scheme and child maintenance premium under the new scheme.

Chris Pond: The child maintenance bonus is a measure to provide an incentive for parents with care to go into work.
	The child maintenance premium is a disregard of income for parents with care who are in receipt of either income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance. When a parent with care ceases to receive income-related benefit, she will receive all of the maintenance paid.

Child Support Agency

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects Child Support Agency cases assessed under the old legislation to be transferred for assessment under the new legislation.

Chris Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1092W.

Child Support Agency

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason maintenance from non-resident parents which is uncollected by the Child Support Agency will be disregarded and written off.

Chris Pond: The Child Support Agency has no powers to write-off debt.
	Legislation provides for a non-resident parent to cease to be liable for a proportion of his arrears in certain tightly defined circumstances. In such cases the Secretary of State may make a payment to the parent with care.

Compensation Recovery Unit

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims were registered with the Compensation Recovery Unit in respect of accidents and illnesses at work; how many resulted in repayment of benefit in such cases; and what the total amount of benefit recovered was.

Jane Kennedy: The information is in the table.
	
		Employer liability compensation cases and benefit recovered
		
			 Cause 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Claims received via employer liability   
			 Accident 92,915 79,286 
			 Disease 90,427 211,924 
			
			 Claims resulting in repayment of benefit   
			 Accident 111,322 115,214 
			 Disease 75,028 100,506 
			
			 Amount recovered   
			 Accident (£) 65,121,648 65,934,190 
			 Disease (£) 37,334,756 39,054,286 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures of claims resulting in repayment of benefit include some received in, and carried forward from, the previous year.
	Source:
	Compensation Recovery Unit Database.

Hearing Loss

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of evidence about the cumulative effects of hearing loss occasioned by war-time noise combined with age related hearing loss.

Ivor Caplin: I have been asked to reply.
	The current scientific understanding of noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss is that it does not get worse on removal from the noise giving rise to the injury and that, in the context of the War Pensions Scheme, hearing loss due to noise and that due to subsequent effects of age are not more than additive. This is the basis on which the Department considers claims for hearing loss due to service in the armed forces.
	In terms of specific assessments of the effects of hearing loss, in 1997 Baroness Hollis, the Minister then responsible for war pensions, asked the then Government Chief Medical Officer, Sir Kenneth Calman, to chair an independent expert review of the assessment of hearing loss in the War Pensions Scheme. Both that independent review and a further departmental review in February 1999 confirmed that the Department's approach to the assessment of hearing loss in war pensions was in line with current scientific and medical understanding. Since early 1999 emerging evidence on the matter has continued to be monitored.
	The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, an independent non-governmental body which advises the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on matters relating to the Industrial Injuries Scheme, published their review of occupational deafness in November 2002 (Cm 5672). This confirmed the War Pensions Scheme approach to assessment.

New Deal for Young People

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many school leavers joined the New Deal programme in Havering in (a) 1999, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

Jane Kennedy: Information on whether people joining New Deal are school leavers is not available.
	Information on the numbers of young people joining New Deal for Young People in Havering, and their ages on joining, is in the table.
	
		Starts to New Deal for Young People in Havering
		
			 Age on joining 1999 2002 2003 
		
		
			 18 70 60 80 
			 19 80 70 70 
			 20 70 60 60 
			 21 60 40 60 
			 22 50 50 50 
			 23 50 40 50 
			 24 60 40 50 
			 Total 450 360 430 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are for January to December each year.
	2. All figures are starts rather than individuals and may include people who have started New Deal more than once.
	3. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	4. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	Source:
	DWP Information and Analysis Directorate.

New Deal for Young People

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2004, Official Report, columns 1341–42W, what the average cost per place on each of the four options in the New Deal for Young People was in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: The information is not available.
	It is intended that a unit cost system, capable of capturing this type of information, will be part of the system implementation of the Resource Management System. The system is currently still in the design and development stage and we anticipate that roll out will commence from late 2005.

Occupational/Personal Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the percentage of employees in each decile of employee incomes who do not contribute to an occupational or personal pension.

Malcolm Wicks: The proportion of employees of working age that have no pension provision by earnings deciles in 2002–03 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Decile Percentage 
		
		
			 Low 81 
			 2 62 
			 3 59 
			 4 48 
			 5 42 
			 6 36 
			 7 27 
			 8 22 
			 9 16 
			 High 13 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are estimates derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) 2002–03, the latest year for which data is available. The coverage of the survey is the UK.
	2. Estimates show the proportion of working age employees with no pension provision within the deciles of the overall working age gross earnings distribution.
	3. People with no pension provision are defined as those who are not members of an occupational pension and not currently contributing to a personal or stakeholder pension scheme.
	4. Employees have been defined as full-time and part-time employees.
	5. Working age has been defined as 20–59 for women and 20–64 for men.
	6. Earnings deciles have been defined in relation to working age gross earnings for employees.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey 2002–03.

Post Office Card Accounts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit recipients have changed their method of payment from payment into a bank account to payment into a Post Office card account since the beginning of direct payment.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Figures supplied are for benefit accounts not benefit recipients. A benefit recipient may have more than one benefit account.
	The Post Office card account has been available since April 2003.
	The number of benefit accounts that have changed from a bank account to a Post Office card account from April 2003 to May 2004 is 12,625.

Post Office Card Accounts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit recipients have changed their method of payment from payment into a Post Office card account to payment into a bank account since the beginning of direct payment.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Figures supplied are for benefit accounts not benefit recipients. A benefit recipient may have more than one benefit account.
	The Post Office card account has been available since April 2003.
	The number of benefit accounts that have changed from a Post Office card account to a bank account from April 2003 to May 2004 is 5,765.

Private Finance Initiative

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) his Department and (b) agencies of the Department have spent on electricity use for each year from 1997 to date.

Chris Pond: Since DWP came into being, its total spend on electricity was £10,097,555 and £11,394,575 in 2001–02 and 2002–03 respectively. Figures are not yet available for 2003–04.
	It is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of spend to Agency level, as invariably DWP buildings are occupied by a number of the Department's businesses.

Underfunded Pension Schemes

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 30 June 2004, Official Report, columns 15–16WS, on underfunded pension schemes (insolvency), what assessment he is undertaking of the number of people who lost pension rights when their scheme was wound up, where the sponsoring employer was solvent, but would have been insolvent had full pension rights been provided.

Malcolm Wicks: The data gathering exercise undertaken to inform the report published on 30 June focused on underfunded schemes sponsored by insolvent employers. The information requested is not available although we are seeking further information and consulting on the circumstances of schemes winding up underfunded with solvent employers prior to making final decisions on eligibility for the Financial Assistance Scheme.

Underfunded Pension Schemes

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 30 June 2004, Official Report, columns 15–16WS, on underfunded pension schemes (insolvency), how many people have lost (a) any and (b) 10 per cent. or more of their expected pension benefits from underfunded schemes wound up by insolvent employers since 1997; and if he will list the schemes whose members were included in the research exercise.

Malcolm Wicks: It is estimated that (a) some 70,000 members may have lost any of their expected pension benefits and that (b) some 65,000 members face losses of 10 per cent. or more of their expected pension benefits from underfunded schemes being wound up by insolvent employers since 1997. These estimates are consistent with those published on 30 June and exclude any non-pensioners' indexation offered by their schemes as well as excluding those with the very smallest cash losses of less than £5 a week. They are rounded to the nearest 5,000 members and so the estimates of the numbers losing 10 per cent. or more of their expected pension benefits are the same as those previously published for the numbers losing 20 per cent. or more.
	We are unable to list the schemes whose members were included in the research exercise as this information was provided by scheme trustees in confidence.

Underfunded Pension Schemes

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 30 June 2004, Official Report, columns 15–16WS, on underfunded pension schemes (insolvency), what steps he is taking to ensure that the data gathered covers all cases where companies sponsoring defined benefit schemes have become insolvent since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The report that was published on 30 June provides estimates of the numbers of people facing significant reductions in their expected pensions as a result of schemes starting to wind up underfunded with insolvent employers since 1997. Those estimates were based on a combination of new information collected, for the purpose of the estimates, from independent trustees, and information already available in the Occupational Pension Regulatory Authority's Pension Schemes Registry. While the new information collected did not itself cover all such schemes, the two sets of information combined provided a firm basis for the global estimates published.
	We are, however, working with the pensions industry to collect more information on affected schemes to assist the development and implementation of the Financial Assistance Scheme.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Residential Accommodation

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of establishments registered to provide residential accommodation for children were the subject of (a) scheduled and (b) unannounced inspections in each of the last three years.

Margaret Hodge: Data are only available for the years 2002–03 and 2003–04 and have been provided by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
	In 2002–03 a total number of 1,172 children's homes were registered. In that period there were 1,031 announced inspections (88 per cent. of all registered children's homes) and 639 unannounced inspections (54.5 per cent. of all registered children's homes).
	In 2003–04 a total of 1,956 children's homes were registered. In that period there were 1,683 announced inspections (86 per cent. of all registered children's homes) and 1,678 unannounced inspections (85.8 per cent. of all registered children's homes).
	It must be taken into account that homes that have not been registered until the latter part of the year might not achieve the second (unannounced) inspection within the same year, although it should occur within the annual timeframe.

Accountancy Costs

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much his Department has spent on accountants in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: Information on spend on accountants is not collected separately from that of other expenditure. The number of accountants employed by the Department since 1997 is shown in the table. The figures for each year are not directly comparable because of machinery of government changes in 2001 and 2003.
	
		
			 Period Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 71 
			 1998–99 64 
			 1999–2000 66 
			 2000–01 41 
			 2001–02 56 
			 2002–03 39 
			 2003–04 36

Adult Skills

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost of (a) an A-level, (b) an Advanced GNVQ and (c) a NVQ level 3 or equivalent vocational qualification are; and how many people achieved each of these qualifications in 2003.

David Miliband: holding answer 25 May 2004
	The cost of examination entry is set by the independent awarding bodies. The typical cost of entry and the number of people achieving (a) A-levels (b) Advanced GNVQs and (c) NVQ level 3 or equivalent in England in 2003 are as follows:
	
		
			  Qualification Typical cost of entry(50) (£) Number of candidates achieving qualification(51) 
		
		
			 (a) GCE A-level 66.00 244,426 
			 (b) VCE AS-level 42.00 10,622 
			 VCE A-level 79.00 27,870 
			 VCE Double Award 150.00 34,349 
		
	
	As part of the Curriculum 2000 reforms the Advanced GNVQ was replaced by the Vocational Certificate of Education (VCE) group of qualifications.
	Using the most recent data available the number of level 3 NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) and VRQs (Vocationally Related Qualifications) achieved in 2002/03 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Qualification Typical cost of entry(50) (£) Number of qualifications achieved 3 
		
		
			 (c) NVQ Level 3 110.00 85,196 
			 VRQ Level 3 — 45,076 
		
	
	(50) Typical cost of entry is based on entry through Edexcel. These figures have been taken from information provided on the Edexcel website.
	(51) Information on candidates attempting GCE A levels and VCE qualifications is taken from information collated for the 2003 Performance Tables.
	(52) Information on achievements for level 3 NVQs and VRQs is taken from the 2002/03 National Information System for Vocational Qualifications (NISVQ).
	Note:
	For VRQs the cost is not shown as this would be dependent upon the exact qualification.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the private contractors participating in the Building Schools for the Future programme; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The first schemes to be procured under the Building Schools for the Future programme are not due to come to the market until later in the summer.
	However, several contractors have been engaged in accordance with public procurement processes to assist in the creation and development of Partnerships for Schools (PfS), which is the non departmental public body established by the Department to manage and co-ordinate the Building Schools for the Future programme.
	These contractors are Bevan Ashford, KPMG, Capita, Precept, Anders Elite and Fujitsu. In addition, the following have had engagements which have now been concluded; Augmentis, Bridge and Beyond.
	PfS is also in the process of procuring framework contacts for the following range of services on behalf of itself, local authorities, schools and other stakeholders:
	Legal advisory services
	Financial advisory services
	Programme Management
	Communications
	Technical advisory services
	Education advisory services
	Team Development.

Chief Mathematics Adviser

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) human and (b) financial resources he plans to make available to the post of chief mathematics adviser to enable the successful applicant to fulfil the responsibilities listed in the job description.

Charles Clarke: The post of Chief Adviser for Mathematics will be a highly influential and pivotal role and the successful candidate will work together with senior officials and Ministers to take forward the work detailed in our response to Professor Adrian Smith's report Making Mathematics Count, which I announced in the House on 28 June. Our response document contained a number of specific financial commitments and I am considering additional resources in the light of this week's Spending Review announcements.

Child Abuse

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how his Department monitors parental child abuse cases in the UK.

Margaret Hodge: This Department does not monitor parental child abuse cases. Rather, the Department collects information relating to children who are listed on the child protection register.
	Children are placed on the child protection register when a multi-agency child protection conference considers them to be at continuing risk of significant harm. That risk may arise from a number of factors, one of which may be parental abuse, but the register does not record the source of the risk.
	Children should be registered under one or more of the categories of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse or neglect, according to a decision by the chair of the child protection conference. The categories used for registration help indicate to those consulting the register the nature of presenting concerns. Recording information in this way also allows for the collation and analysis of information locally and nationally.
	The Department publishes, on an annual basis, information relating to registrations, de-registrations and re-registrations of children on the child protection register.

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are residing in children's homes in West Sussex.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the total number of children residing in children's homes in West Sussex is not collected centrally.
	At 31 March 2003, the latest date for which information is available, it is estimated that West Sussex County Council had responsibility for 20 looked after children residing in children's homes and hostels within their local authority. A further 30 are in children's homes outside their local authority boundary. Information on the number of looked after children from other councils who are residing in residential accommodation within West Sussex is not collected centrally.

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children's homes in West Sussex were subject to (a) scheduled and (b) unannounced inspections in each of the last three years.

Margaret Hodge: According to information provided by the Commission for Social Care Inspection there are 32 children's homes in West Sussex, of which nine are run by the Local Authority. Since 1 April 2002 all of the homes have been inspected twice a year (one announced and one unannounced inspection in each year).

Departmental Staffing

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many non-Civil Service staff have worked on projects in the Department in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: The Department does not hold this information centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Disabled People (Services)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the efficacy and efficiency of services provided by his Department to disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 12 July 2004
	The Government are committed to improving the position of disabled people in society and believe that public bodies should take the lead in promoting equal opportunities. That is why the draft Disability Discrimination Bill extends the DDA to the functions of public bodies and introduces a duty on public bodies to promote equality for disabled people.
	Accordingly, my Department keeps the efficacy and efficiency of services provided to disabled people under constant review. The Sure Start Unit has published and disseminated guidance and training materials to Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in local authorities, which will guide and empower them to support early identification, intervention, develop inclusive early learning environments and existing service provision. These materials will help them to support children in removing barriers to learning wherever these exist.
	The Children Act Report 2002, published by DfES in June 2003, pulls together the latest information from statistical returns, inspections and research on social services support for children. This report includes a chapter on support for disabled children and their families. See the DfES website at http://www. dfes.qov.uk.Ofsted inspections of schools and LEAs include a requirement to look at and report on the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. In addition, Ofsted also undertake reports on specific themes. It is due to report in September 2004 on the initial impact of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and will also be reporting at regular intervals on progress being made as a result of the Government's Strategy for SEN: Removing Barriers to Achievement. Ofsted also has the lead responsibility for inspecting Connexions partnerships. All Ofsted inspections focus on the experience of young people and evaluate and report on quality and effectiveness of the partnership. Ofsted's framework for inspection states that they should report on how responsive the partnership is to the range and diversity of young people in the area. In making their judgments, Ofsted report on the relevance of programmes provided and whether they provide for the diverse needs of young people within the target age group, taking into account such features as sex, link ethnicity and disability and ensuring equality and equity. See the Ofsted website at http://www. ofsted.gov.uk.
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provides funding to the higher education institutions and further education colleges it funds to widen access and improve provision for disabled students. It publishes an annual series of performance indicators that cover access, progression, retention, research, graduate employment and disability. The allocation of funds reflects the proportion of students that each institution recruits who are in receipt of the disabled students allowance (DSA). See "Explanation of how the mainstream disability allocation for 2004–05 is calculated" at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/widen/sldd/allocat.asp
	HEFCE also distributes special initiative funding in support of students with learning difficulties and disabilities. In the current round, they have funded 54 projects in two strands. Funding for this round of projects began in January 2003 and the programme ends in December 2005. See HEFCE's "2003–05 Special funding programme: Improving provision for disabled students" at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/widen/sldd/fund03-O5.asp
	HEFCE also funds the National Disability Team to support projects and provide guidance to the higher education sector on disability issues and legislation. More details can be found at http://www.natdisteam.ac.uk/
	In May 2003 HEFCE published "Project capital round three: invitation to apply for funds". Of the £494 million allocated to improve capital and IT infrastructure to support learning and teaching, £117 million is allocated to improve provision for disabled students, in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and its extension in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. See http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/circlets/2004/cl02 04/
	In addition, the Department has published guidance on the additional student support that students with disabilities are entitled to. This guidance ("Bridging the Gap; A guide to the Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) in higher education") can be downloaded from http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/students/stu students with d.shtml.
	A review of the administration of disabled students allowances was carried out by SKILL: the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities at the request of DfES. A summary of SKILL'S findings and recommendations can be found on the Department's website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/dsa . shtml
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) published its Annual Equality and Diversity Report for 2002–03 in November 2003, including an assessment of progress in providing equal access to Further Education and adult learning for disabled people. This publication is available in electronic form on the LSC's website: www.lsc.gov.uk

Sure Start

Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been made available to Sure Start projects in the London borough of Islington for each year since the inception of Sure Start; and what the projected funding for future years is.

Margaret Hodge: The London borough of Islington has six Sure Start local programmes, two Early Excellence Centres and eight Neighbourhood nurseries, the first of which was approved in October 2000. The revenue funding for these initiatives is shown in the following table:
	
		Table 1 -- £
		
			  Amount (Revenue) 
		
		
			 2000/01 448,250 
			 2001/02 894,900 
			 2002/03 2,277,208 
			 2003/04 4,030,346 
			 2004/05 4,910,149 
			 2005/06 5,227,097 
			 Total 17,837,950 
		
	
	The total amount of capital allocated to the Sure Start initiatives in Islington is £7,587,100. In addition Islington has been allocated £1,033,126 revenue and £3,149,773 capital to develop children's centres over the period of 2004–06.
	These figures do not include local authority funding for child care and nursery education allocated to Islington.
	The Chancellor announced in the Spending Review that the Sure Start Unit will be allocated £1,167 million, £1,483 million and £1,667 million for 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 respectively for England. At this stage it is not possible to say how much will be allocated to individual local authorities.

Out-of-city Schools

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Nottingham pupils have gone to out of city schools in the last academic year; (ii) what funding was transferred out of the city as a result; and (iii) how many pupils in each of the last three years have been returned to city schools during the course of the year.

David Miliband: The information is as follows:
	(i) The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Number and proportion of LEA resident pupils in maintained primary(53)and secondary(53) schools educated in other LEAs and the number and proportion of non-residents educated in schools located within the LEA—January 2003
		
			  Nottingham 
			  Primary Secondary 
		
		
			 Number of pupils resident within the LEA 25,615 16,451 
			 Number of resident pupils educated in other LEAs 1,365 3,659 
			 Percentage of resident pupils educated in other LEAs(54) 5.3 22.2 
			
			 Number of pupils educated within the LEA 25,538 13,937 
			 Number of pupils educated in the LEA that are resident in another LEA 1,288 1,145 
			 Percentage of pupils educated in the LEA that are resident in another LEA(55) 5 8.2 
		
	
	(53) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(54) Percentage reported is calculated as a percentage of resident pupils living within the LEA.
	(55) Percentage reported is calculated as a percentage of school population attending schools within the LEA.
	Source:
	NPD 2003.
	(ii) Local education authorities are funded for the pupils attending schools within their authority irrespective of the area of residence of the individual pupils (with the exception of SEN pupils where recoupment is arranged locally). Therefore there is no need for funding transfers in respect of cross border movements.
	(iii) Data of this type are not currently available.

St. Helens Schools

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) head teachers, (b) teachers and (c) support workers were employed in St. Helens schools in each year from 1997 to 2004.

David Miliband: The following table gives the full-time equivalent number of head teachers, all regular teachers and support staff employed in the maintained sector in St. Helens local education authority for each year between 1997 and 2003, the latest information available.
	
		
			  Head teachers(56) All teachers(57) Support staff 3 
		
		
			 2003 78 1,630 800 
			 2002 78 1,580 790 
			 2001 75 1,570 680 
			 2000 77 1,570 570 
			 1999 81 1,570 530 
			 1998 84 1,570 500 
			 1997 83 1,590 480 
		
	
	(56) Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service 2001 to 2003 and Database of Teachers Records (DTR) 1997 to 2000. The DTR is maintained primarily for pensions purposes. The figures include all teachers who are being paid as head teachers.
	(57) Source: Annual Survey of Teachers in Service
	(58) Source: Annual School Census. Support staff include teaching assistants, administrative staff, technicians and other medical, child care and education support staff.

St. Helens Schools

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average pay was for teachers in St. Helens in each year from 1997 to 2004.

David Miliband: The following table shows the average salary of full-time regular qualified teachers in the maintained schools sector in England and Wales as at March of each year. The latest information available is for 2002.
	
		
			 As at March £ 
		
		
			 2002 28,720 
			 2001 27,200 
			 2000 25,390 
			 1999 24,440 
			 1998 23,540 
			 1997 22,900 
		
	
	Source:
	The Database of Teacher Records. Figures cover all grades and include all allowances.

St. Helens Schools

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what major development and spending projects (a) have taken place since 1997 and (b) are planned to take place over the next two years in St. Helens;
	(2)  what the level of (a) capital and (b) revenue spend was in St. Helens primary schools in each year from 1997 to 2004.

David Miliband: The bulk of capital funding is allocated to local education authorities (LEAs) and schools by formula so that they can decide their priorities for investment in line with locally decided asset management plans. We do not, therefore, hold detailed information about school building developments and projects that have taken place, or are planned.
	The following table shows the capital allocations made to St. Helens LEA and all its schools, both primary and secondary, from 1996–97 to 2003–04.
	
		Capital allocations to St. Helens and its schools
		
			  Allocation (£000) 
		
		
			 1996–97 2,286 
			 1997–98 1,818 
			 1998–99 3,244 
			 1999–2000 3,802 
			 2000–01 6,603 
			 2001–02 5,562 
			 2002–03 10,234 
			 2003–04 7,152 
		
	
	For revenue spend in primary schools in St. Helens, the figures are as follows:
	
		St. Helen's: Net institutional expenditure (NIE)(59) (cash terms) -- £
		
			  NIE (pre-primary and primary) 2 NIE (pre-primary) 2 NIE (primary) 2 
		
		
			 1996–97 29,540,000 — — 
			 1997–98 27,484,000 — — 
			 1998–99 29,286,000 — — 
			 1999–2000 33,966,565 514,585 33,451,980 
			 2000–01 37,197,870 828,287 36,369,583 
			 2001–02 39,765,740 1,174,816 38,590,924 
			 2002–03(61)   39,865,585 
		
	
	(59) Net institutional expenditure (NIE) includes all school-recurrent funding, including teaching staff and non-teaching staff salaries, school premises costs, equipment and supplies. It takes account of unspent balances held by schools at the year end. It does not include the cost of school meals, home to school transport, LEA central administration or the financing costs of capital expenditure.
	(60) Prior to 1999–2000 figures are drawn from the RO1 return which collected combined information for pre-primary and primary. In 2002–03 the structure of the form changed to collect in-school expenditure information from the primary, secondary and special sectors only.
	(61) The outturn 2002–03 tables captured the data in a fundamentally different way to the previous years. Categories were aligned with the Consistent Financial Reporting framework and the spending by LEAs was no longer split by school sector. Consequently the expenditure reported in 2002–03 is not strictly comparable with earlier years.
	Source:
	The expenditure data prior to 1999–2000 is drawn from the annual 'RO1' spending returns which local authorities submitted to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. From 1999–2000 onwards, data is taken from local education authorities' Section 52 Outturn Statements submitted to the DfES.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases against his Department, the agencies for which it is responsible and its predecessor organisations have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims.

Charles Clarke: My Department is committed to embedding diversity and equality into its employment policies and practices.
	The number of employment tribunal cases against my Department is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Equal pay Sex discrimination Race discrimination Disability discrimination Unfair dismissal 
		
		
			 2002  1 1 — — 
			 2003  — 1 (62)3 2 
			 2004  3 — 1 1 
			 Total  4 2 4 3 
		
	
	(62) Two cases included unfair dismissal.
	Information before these years in the form requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	There were no awards made against my Department during the years quoted, however, applicants did receive out of court settlements totalling £26,356. The cost for contesting claims during the years quoted totalled just over £99,500.

Fair Admissions Taskforce

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of recruitment of the Head of the Fair Admissions Taskforce was; and what his (a) salary and (b) other employment costs for the next three years are estimated to be.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 15 July 2004
	Professor Schwartz receives no remuneration as Chair of the Admissions to Higher Education Review, other than expenses. There were no costs of recruitment.
	As Vice-Chancellor of Brunel University, Professor Schwartz's salary is a matter for Brunel University. All Vice-Chancellors' salaries are in the public domain, and the THES of 20 February 2004 listed his pay for the year 2002–03 as £174,000.

Fieldwork

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of a possible link between falling numbers of science graduates and the availability of fieldwork and out-of-classroom activity in schools; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make fieldwork and out-of-classroom learning part of the core science curriculum; what assessment he has made of the obstacles to biology fieldwork; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the benefits of fieldwork and out-of-classroom activity in developing practical skills for use (a) at undergraduate level, (b) at postgraduate level and (c) in employment; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: No assessment has been made of the impact that the availability of fieldwork in school science has on science graduate numbers. We will set out measures to increase the number of students studying the physical sciences and engineering through the Government's 10 year investment framework for science and innovation, published alongside the 2004 spending review.
	Out of classroom learning is already a statutory requirement in National Curriculum Geography and we will continue to encourage schools to provide fieldwork opportunities in science. We are developing training and guidance for science teachers in fieldwork, including risk assessment, through our new network of Science Learning Centres.
	The Field Studies Council's recent 'Review of Outdoor Learning', which the Department part funded, pointed to the potential learning, attitudinal, interpersonal and social outcomes of fieldwork and out of classroom activity such as leadership, team working, enquiry and self-reliance.

Formula Spending Share

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average (a) primary formula spending share per pupil and (b) secondary formula spending share per pupil is for each local education authority for 2005–06 listed in descending order of secondary formula spending share.

David Miliband: Figures for 2005–06 will not be available until the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement is announced in the autumn.

Foundation Schools

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills with whom a school must consult should it wish to adopt foundation status; and how such consultations are funded.

David Miliband: The Secretary of State's statutory guidance currently says that those bringing forward proposals for a change in the category of a school should consult all interested parties. These include:
	any local education authority likely to be affected by the proposals;
	other schools in the area;
	parents and teachers in the area who may be affected by the proposals;
	if proposals involve, or are likely to affect, a school which has a particular religious foundation, the appropriate religious body;
	if the proposals affect the provision of full-time 16–19 education, the Learning and Skills Council.
	Funding of consultations is the responsibility of those bringing forward the proposals.
	The Five Year Strategy document proposes a simpler and quicker procedure for schools to change category. We intend that the new procedures should retain a requirement for consultation.

Free School Transport

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in Weston-Super-Mare constituency he estimates would lose the right to free school transport under the proposals contained in the Draft School Transport Bill.

Charles Clarke: This would be a matter for the LEA. The School transport Bill (which has been published for prelegislative scrutiny) allows local education authorities to apply to the Secretary of State to run pilot schemes which will cater for ALL pupils, not just those currently qualifying for free school transport. Pilot authorities may charge for transport, except for pupils eligible for free school meals, but charges must be set at a level that does not encourage car use and caters for the needs of large and low income families.
	The Local Government Association, the Audit Commission and the Social Exclusion Unit have all asked us to trial alternatives to the current regime. No authority will be forced to run a trial, and we have no plans to require all authorities to change their existing arrangements.

Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of higher education students studied (a) physical sciences, (b) medicine, (c) dentistry, (d) engineering and technology and (e) architecture, building and planning in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) 2002–03.

Alan Johnson: The available information is given in the table. A new method of allocating students to subject groups was introduced in 2002/03, the effect of which was to decrease the number of students in the 'combined' category and increase those who were allocated to specific subjects. This means that the figures for 2002/03 are not directly comparable with those for earlier years so the comparisons in the table have been made with 2001/02 instead.
	
		Proportion of all HE Enrolments at UK HEIs studying specific subjects -- Percentage
		
			 Subject group 1996/97 2001/02 2002/03 
		
		
			 Physical Sciences 4.1 3.2 3.3 
			 Pre-clinical/Clinical Medicine 1.9 2.0 2.0 
			 Pre-clinical/Clinical Dentistry 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			 Engineering and Technology 7.5 6.4 6.0 
			 Architecture, Building and Planning 2.7 2.2 2.1 
		
	
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Higher Education

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in which academic areas the percentage of higher education students studying a particular subject has fallen since 1997; and by what amounts.

Alan Johnson: The available information is given in the table. A new method of allocating students to subject groups was introduced in 2002/03, the effect of which was to decrease the number of students in the 'combined' category and increase those who were allocated to specific subjects. This means that the figures for 2002/03 are not directly comparable with those for earlier years so the comparisons in the table have been made with 2001/02 instead.
	
		Distribution of higher education students at UK HE institutions by subject of study
		
			  Percentage of all HE enrolments 
			 Subject 1997/98 2001/02 Change 
		
		
			 Medicine and Dentistry 2.2 2.3 0.0 
			 Subjects Allied to Medicine 9.2 11.0 1.7 
			 Biological Sciences 4.8 4.6 -0.2 
			 Veterinary Science 0.2 0.2 0.0 
			 Agriculture and Related Subjects 0.8 0.8 -0.0 
			 Physical Sciences 3.9 3.2 -0.7 
			 Mathematical Sciences 1.1 1.1 0.0 
			 Computer Science 4.3 5.7 1.4 
			 Engineering and Technology 7.1 6.4 -0.8 
			 Architecture, Building and Planning 2.5 2.2 -0.3 
			 Social, Economic and Political Science 7.2 7.0 -0.2 
			 Law 3.2 3.2 0.0 
			 Business and Administrative Studies 12.4 11.7 -0.7 
			 Librarianship and Information Science — — — 
			 Languages 5.1 4.7 -0.4 
			 Humanities 3.4 3.2 -0.2 
			 Creative Arts and Design 5.3 5.7 0.4 
			 Education 7.5 7.4 -0.1 
			 Combined 18.5 18.2 -0.3 
			 Total 100.0 100.0 n/a 
		
	
	n/a=Not applicable.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency.
	
		Percentage of all higher education students in the above subjects in 2002/03 1
		
			 Subject 2002/03 
		
		
			 Medicine 2.3 
			 Subjects Allied to Medicine 11.4 
			 Biological Sciences 5.9 
			 Veterinary Science 0.2 
			 Agriculture and Related Subjects 0.7 
			 Physical Sciences 3.3 
			 Mathematical Science 1.2 
			 Computing Science 6.1 
			 Engineering and Technology 6.0 
			 Architecture, Building and Planning 2.1 
			 Social Studies 7.7 
			 Law 3.7 
			 Business and Administrative Studies 13.0 
			 Mass Communications and Documentation 1.9 
			 Languages 5.9 
			 Historical and Philosophical Studies 3.9 
			 Creative Arts and Design 6.3 
			 Education 7.3 
			 Combined 11.2 
		
	
	(63) For the academic year 2002/03 HESA uses a different method of allocating students to subject groups and so figures are not comparable to earlier years.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency.

London Admissions System

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will set out details of the London admissions system referred to in page 52 of his five year strategy for children and learners.

David Miliband: The London Schools Admissions System (LSAS) has been developed by the Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in London to create an infrastructure which will simplify the secondary school admissions process for London parents. From September 2005, all 33 London boroughs and eight adjoining LEAs will co-operate to process applications for secondary schools. Parents will be able to apply for up to six maintained secondary schools on a single application form. Individual admission authorities will continue to consider applications under their published arrangements, but where an applicant is eligible for a place at more than one school the LSAS will offer the applicant the available school ranked highest on their application form. This will ensure that no child gets more than one offer and that more children are offered a school place on the national offer date of 1 March. We are confident that because fewer children will be left with no offer of a school place, the LSAS will help to reduce the anxiety and frustration which many parents, pupils and schools feel under the current application system.

Means-tested Benefits

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the means-tested benefits available through his Department and the agencies for which it is responsible (a) in May 1997 and (b) now.

Charles Clarke: The following table sets out means-tested benefits that applied on May 1997 and those that apply in July 2004. Further changes will be implemented for the 2004/05 academic year as a result of the Higher Education Act.
	
		
			  May 1997 July 2004 
		
		
			 Higher Education   
			 Full-time students Student grant (mandatory awards from LEAs). Grants for fees. 
			  Grants for dependants—adults and children. Grants for dependants—adults and children. 
			  Travelling expenses. Travel grant. 
			  Disabled students allowances. Student loan (25 per cent. means-tested). 
			  Discretionary access funds. Discretionary hardship fund. 
			   Hardship loan. 
			
			 Part-time Students No means-tested benefits available. Part-time student loan. 
			
			 Further Education Learner support funds. Learner support funds. 
			   Education maintenance allowance. 
			   Adult learning grants. 
			
			 School Age Free school meals. Free school meals. 
			  Free school milk. Free school milk. 
			  Remission of charges for the cost of board and lodging while attending residential school trips. Remission of charges for the cost of board and lodging while attending residential school trips.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible have been (a) established and (b) abolished since 1997.

Charles Clarke: Since 1997,14 Executive, Advisory and Tribunal NDPBs have been established, 11 have been abolished and one ceased to be an NDPB and was de-classified as an NDPB.

Pupil Funding (Harwich)

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding per pupil was spent in the Harwich constituency in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The information requested is submitted to the Department according to local education authority areas rather than constituency level. The figures provided are for Essex LEA and are shown in the following table.
	
		Net current expenditure (after recharges) per pupil—Cash terms
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,410 
			 1998–99 2,640 
			 1999–00 2,650 
			 2000–01 2,880 
			 2001–02 3,200 
			 2002–03 3,410 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The financial data are taken from Essex LEAs' Section 52 Outturn Statement submitted to the DfES from 1999–2000 onwards and the ODPM's RO1 statement previously. 2002–03 data are subject to change by the LEA. Section 52 is collected at local authority level, not constituency level, so the figures provided are for Essex LEA. 1997–98 figures are for Essex LEA prior to local government reorganisation. From 1998–99 onwards parts of Essex LEA became Southend and Thurrock LEAs. 1999–2000 figures reflect the return of GM schools to local authority maintenance.
	2. The outturn 2002–03 tables captured the data in a fundamentally different way to the previous years. Categories were aligned with the Consistent Financial Reporting framework and the spending by LEAs was no longer split by school sector. This change in calculation is identified by the use of italics. The 2002–03 figure is calculated by taking all the LEA expenditure, excluding CERA and Youth and Community, and dividing it by the FTE pupil numbers in maintained pre-primary, primary, secondary and special schools.
	3. The figures shown are calculated by dividing the LEA expenditure by the number of pupils in maintained establishments, Essex has a large proportion of its pre-primary pupils educated outside mainstream establishments. If these are taken into account then the unit cost in 2001–02 reduces to approximately £3,110 and in 2002–03 to £3,300.
	4. Net current expenditure (NCE) includes expenditure within schools and also that incurred centrally by the LEA.
	5. Pupil data are drawn from the Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10.

School Halls (East Sussex)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new school halls have been approved for primary schools in East Sussex in each of the last 10 years; and how many applications for new school halls for primary schools in East Sussex have been rejected in each of the last 10 years.

David Miliband: We do not hold the information requested. The majority of capital support is allocated to schools and local education authorities by formula, and they decide how to invest it in line with their asset management plans.
	In 2001–02 there were five projects in East Sussex awarded funding under the Spaces for Sports and Arts programme operated by Sport England. This programme was intended to increase community and curricula use in primary schools.

School Leaving Age

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average age of school leavers in (a) Great Britain and (b) Havering was in (i) 1999, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2003.

David Miliband: The data are not collected centrally. In England, a pupil ceases to be of compulsory school age on the last Friday in June in the school year in which he reaches the age of sixteen. This means that pupils will be aged between around sixteen years and ten months and fifteen years and ten months when they leave school.

School Workload Agreement

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the number of schools that will be able to fund the implementation of the School Workload Agreement in 2005–06 and 2006–07;
	(2)  what options head teachers can follow in order to release funds to implement the requirements of the schools remodelling agreement;
	(3)  what mechanisms are in place to ensure the successful implementation of the School Workforce Agreement in all schools for 2005–06;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the impact of reductions in numbers of teachers and teaching assistants on the introduction of planning, preparation and assessment time for all teachers.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement I laid before the House on Tuesday 3 July on school funding for 2005–06, Official Report, column 55WS. On the same day there was also a press notice issued by the Department (DfES press notice 2004/0137) which included a statement welcoming the school funding settlement by the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group (made up of the majority of the school workforce unions and other partners).
	The written statement to the House sets out how we have considered, with our partner signatories, the costs of implementation of the National Agreement. It announces what funds will be available to schools to implement the Agreement in 2005–06.
	From 2006 we will provide guaranteed three-year budgets for every school, which will give head teachers and governors unprecedented financial security and confidence, and the ability to plan for the future.
	Practical advice and support is available to assist successful implementation at school level, from the national network of LEA remodelling advisers and from the National Remodelling Team—NRT (part of National College for School Leadership). The NRT website, www.remodelling.org, contains a range of strategies and models based on real school level case studies on managing in the changes and will include shortly, a toolkit and resources pack specifically on guaranteeing planning, preparation and assessment time for teachers.
	In addition, from September, up to 10,000 schools will have access to workshops and consultancy as part of the second year of the Financial Management in Schools programme. This builds on the first year of this programme which saw thousands of schools benefit from the programme.
	We will continue to monitor trends in the schools workforce through the Annual Schools Census each January. There are now 427,800 full-time equivalent teachers—28,600 more than in 1997 and the highest number since 1981—and the number of support staff has increased to 241,700, having more than doubled since 1997. These figures illustrate the trend of the significant increases in teachers and support staff since 1997. The next School Workforce Volume will be available in the autumn.

Schools (Foundation Status)

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether there will be an appeals system (a) against a school's decision to apply for and (b) against a decision to grant a school foundation status.

David Miliband: The decision on whether to proceed to and adopt Foundation status will be for the governing body of a school alone, though they will be obliged to publish proposal of their intention to make the change of status.

Schools (Foundation Status)

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the enablement of a foundation school to appoint a majority of governors from (a) a charitable foundation and (b) a faith sponsor referred to in chapter 4, page 49 of his five-year strategy for children and learners will be subject to (i) consultation with and (ii) the agreement of all parents in the locality.

David Miliband: We shall be consulting in due course on the proposals for foundation schools set out in the Department's five-year strategy. At that point we will set out in more detail our plans for ensuring that stakeholders, including local parents, are consulted and have the opportunity to make representations about proposed changes to the constitution of schools.

Solvent Abuse

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what funding the Government have provided for education on solvent abuse in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The funding that the Department has allocated to local education authorities to support drug education and prevention in all schools in England since 1999 is provided in the table. This would include education about the effects of solvents; a statutory requirement of the National Curriculum. We have not directed the proportion of this funding that should be spent on education about solvent abuse.
	
		£ million
		
			  Funding 
		
		
			 1999–2000 7.4 
			 2000–01 (64)7.4 
			 2001–02 13.1 
			 2002–03 15.2 
			 2003–04 14.3 
			 Total 57.4 
		
	
	(64) Allocated as part of social inclusion grant
	Since April 2004, the level of support for drug education in schools is for local education authorities and schools to decide.
	"Drugs: Guidance to Schools" issued by DfES to all schools this year made clear that volatile substance abuse should be addressed at an early stage in the curriculum. We are also supporting teachers' professional development through the PSHE certification programme which will support teaching of drug education, including volatile substance abuse, in schools. 3,000 teachers are set the benefit this year.
	The Department of Health is leading the development of a strategy for volatile substance abuse which will include measurable and achievable targets.

Specialist Schools

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether a specialist school, applying for an additional specialism, will be required to undergo all the procedures inherent in its original application for specialist status.

David Miliband: As set out in the Department's Five Year Strategy, the opportunity to develop a second specialism will be offered at re-designation (when specialist schools apply to retain the status for a further four year phase). This year, schools qualifying for the simplified re-designation procedure will be eligible. In recognition of what these schools have already achieved, on both exam performance and value added bases, the application process will be light touch—with short guidance asking for summary plans to be annexed to the main re-designation application. This light touch approach reflects wider policy moves towards a new relationship with schools. Applicants will also need to consult their LEAs, the Specialist Schools Trust and the Youth Sport Trust, including to ensure their choice of second specialism enhances the existing local specialist balance.

Students (Means-Testing)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what effect university bursaries and grants will have on students in receipt of means-tested bursaries from 2006.

Alan Johnson: Bursaries are not treated as part of taxable income and so are not taken into account in the Government means test that determines entitlement to our grants.

Teachers' Salaries

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his Department estimates to be the average salary cost in 2004 to (a) schools, (b) his Department and (c) local education authorities of (i) a newly qualified teacher, (ii) a teacher with five years' experience in teaching and (iii) a teacher nearing retirement.

David Miliband: The salary costs of the majority of teachers in schools are met by school budgets. There are no additional costs to local authorities. The Department for Education and Skills provides special grants to meet the cost of teachers who pass the performance threshold and contributes to the cost of performance pay awards. In the financial year 2001/02 the performance threshold grant totalled £436,703, 000 and the performance pay grant totalled £19,887,000.
	At 31 March 2002, the latest information available, the average salary of a newly qualified full-time entrant to the maintained school sector in England and Wales was £17,870. The salary for full-time qualified teachers with five years service was £25,310 and for full-time qualified teachers aged 55 to £59, 32,890. These figures are for all grades and include all allowances. Employer national insurance and pension contributions are excluded: for the average salaries above the contribution rates are 13.9 per cent. for new entrants, 14.6 per cent. for those with five years experience and 15.3 per cent. for those aged 55 to 59. The normal age for the retirement of teachers is 60.
	This information is based on data from the Database of Teachers Records which is maintained primarily for pensions purposes.

University Attendance (Havering)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 18 year olds (a) in Great Britain and (b) from Havering chose to go to university in (i) 1997, (ii) 1999, (iii) 2001 and (iv) 2003.

Alan Johnson: The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions service (UCAS) and covers 18 year old, English domiciled applicants accepted through UCAS to full time first degree and HMD courses. Figures are given in the table.
	
		Percentage of 18 year olds accepted through UCAS to HE courses
		
			 Year of Entry Havering LEA England 
		
		
			 1997 16.2 20.5 
			 1999 16.9 20.0 
			 2001 19.0 21.5 
			 2003 16.8 21.4

University Entrants

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of 18 year olds in (a) England and (b) Somerset chose to go to university in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2003.

Alan Johnson: The available information is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions service (UCAS) and covers 18 year old, English domiciled applicants accepted through UCAS to full time first degree and HND courses. Figures are given in the table.
	
		Percentage of 18 year olds accepted through UCAS to HE courses
		
			 Year of Entry Somerset LEA England 
		
		
			 1997 21.6 20.5 
			 2001 21.4 21.5 
			 2003 19.9 21.4

NORTHERN IRELAND

Athletics Tracks

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government have to develop an eight lane athletics track for international athletics meetings in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Northern Ireland currently has three eight lane athletics tracks with facilities of the standard required to hold minor international athletic events. These are at Antrim Stadium, Ballykillaire Sports Centre in Bangor and Templemore Stadium in Londonderry. However, the facilities at these venues are not of a standard which would allow major international athletic events to be hosted.
	Provision for an eight lane athletics track for major international athletic meetings in Northern Ireland is a matter in the first instance for the Governing body of athletics in Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Athletics Federation. To date I have received no proposals from them for such a facility.

Care Homes (South Down)

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what action will be taken to resolve the shortage of home care staff in the South Down area;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the shortage in home care staff in the South Down area.

Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) recognises the recruitment and retention difficulties faced by domiciliary care providers, not only in the South Down area but across the region as a whole. Research has been commissioned, which includes exploring with Health and Social Services Trusts and independent domiciliary care providers, the key issues affecting their ability to commission or deliver such services in the future. The outcome of this research will help to inform decisions on future funding for domiciliary care services.
	DHSSPS is committed to securing additional resources for community care services. This year I have allocated an additional £4 million for community care, which will include domiciliary care. These funds have been allocated to boards on the basis of their capitation shares of overall resources.

Chlamydia

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will establish a chlamydia screening programme in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department is in the process of establishing a Working Group to consider the evidence and the feasibility of introducing a Chlamydia screening programme in Northern Ireland.

Civil Servants (Industrial Action)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the impact of the current industrial action of civil servants on the payment of rates.

Ian Pearson: While the ongoing industrial action is causing some disruption to services the Rates Collection Agency has deployed contingency measures and performance at the end of May 2004 was on a par with that at the end of May 2003.

Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been made available in the last year to roll-out a regional diabetic retinopathy screening programme in Northern Ireland; and (a) how and (b) where this funding has been spent.

Angela Smith: In the financial year 2003–04 £175,000 was allocated to the four Health and Social Services Boards, on a capitation basis, to begin the development of a regional diabetic retinopathy screening programme. This year (2004–05) £300,000 has been provided to the boards towards the extension of the programme. These resources will allow the boards to commence recruitment and training of staff for photography and grading, and certain aspects of IT. £100,000 has been set aside to support the development of central elements of the programme including a regional co-ordinator, clerical support, and a quality assurance framework. A further £300,000 capital funding is available this year for the purchase of essential equipment.

Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the implementation strategy is for rolling out regional diabetic retinopathy screening in Northern Ireland; and what the (a) timescales and (b) targets for the future roll-out are.

Angela Smith: Introduction of a comprehensive regional diabetic retinopathy screening programme with its different methodologies and complex IT and operational aspects is expected to take a number of years. Boards are developing local implementation plans which take account of local needs and existing arrangements. They are being guided by the Department's Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Working Group. The aim is to screen around 20,000 people with diabetes in the current year, subject to recruitment of appropriate staff.

Diabetic Retinopathy Screening

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the progress is of the Regional Diabetic Retinopathy Steering Group since January in taking forward the proposals outlined in the Report of the Working Group to the Chief Medical Officer, October 2002, entitled Proposal for the Introduction of a Comprehensive Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Following the Report of the Working Group, money was made available in April 2003 to develop diabetic retinopathy screening. Since then the Department's Diabetic Retinopathy Working Group has been overseeing developmental work required for the extension of the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme. This includes work with Health Board staff, and other health professionals involved in screening, in progressing local implementation plans. Work is also on-going on issues including regional co-ordination, a quality assurance framework, datasets and IT support. The capacity of the treatment services is also being assessed.

Drugs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department is doing to limit mortality and morbidity from adverse drug reactions in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is actively supporting the introduction of medicines management services in Northern Ireland. These are specifically targeted to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with medicine use. Such services include prescribing support, medication review, managing your medicines schemes, repeat dispensing, patient education and interface management between primary and secondary care.

Drugs

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will provide mainstream funding for the Stopping Them Starting drugs prevention campaign through education projects in primary schools.

Barry Gardiner: The Department for Education does not directly fund or prescribe the use of any particular programmes or materials that schools should use. It is entirely a matter for individual schools to select the resources and materials they consider necessary to deliver the curriculum, including drugs education.

Education Budget

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how much of the projected budget for schools in 2005–06 will go to (a) primary and (b) secondary education;
	(2)  what special funding has been allocated to schools in socially deprived areas in the 2005–06 budget.

Barry Gardiner: Specific budgets for the 2005–06 financial year will be determined in light of the outcome of the Budget 2004 Spending Review.

Education Budget

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what additional funding for education in Northern Ireland was received from the Exchequer following the Chancellor's funding statement in March.

Barry Gardiner: The Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement provided for increased allocations for the Department for Education and Skills in 2006–07 and 2007–08. Northern Ireland received a proportion of these increases but, under the standard funding arrangements, such additions are not hypothecated as the allocation of the overall Northern Ireland budget is a matter for local decision.

Equality Commission

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid in legal aid for cases supported by the Equality Commission in the last three years.

John Spellar: The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) is not responsible for legal aid but does support a range of discrimination cases of strategic value through its legal and financial resources. ECNI's published Annual Reports and Accounts for 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 report spending on legal cases supported by the Commission as:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2000–01 653,890 
			 2001–02 1,046,561 
			 2002–03 2,750,825 
		
	
	As stated in the Audited Accounts, the total for 2002–03 includes a contingent liability of legal fees of £605,000 anticipated over the next three years in respect of 287 closed cases.

Equality Commission

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases the Equality Commission has supported in the last three years, broken down by (a) gender, (b) disability and (c) religion; and how many succeeded.

John Spellar: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			 Area 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Gender 141 160 52 
			 Disability 68 112 43 
			 Religion/Political Opinion 142 289 37 
		
	
	Applications Granted Assistance 2000–01 to 2002–03
	On the basis of information supplied by the Equality Commission, in the same period the following numbers of cases were either settled or heard and upheld 1 .
	1 The year in which applications were granted support and the year when settlements or hearings were completed are unlikely to be the same.
	
		
			  Number of cases 
		
		
			 2000–01 108 
			 2001–02 124 
			 2002–03 196

Equality Commission

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases are before the Equality Commission; and how long each has been awaiting a decision.

John Spellar: There are currently 176 applications for assistance being considered by the Equality Commission of which 120 have been received within the past four months and 56, four months or more.
	The target processing period is four months and a number of those applications currently requiring longer are dependent on responses from respondents.

Foster Carers

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many foster carers in each health trust area in Northern Ireland receive fee pay for children in their care; what the average amount of money paid to foster carers for fee pay is; and whether the criteria for fee paying to foster carers is the same in each health trust area in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The number of foster carers in receipt of fee pay in each Health and Social Services Trust area in Northern Ireland as of quarter ending 31st March 2004 is as follows:
	
		
			 Health and Social Services Trust Number of Fee Paid Foster Carers 
		
		
			 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 7 
			 Causeway HSS Trust 6 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge HSS Trust 3 
			 Down Lisbum HSS Trust 28 
			 Foyle HSS Trust 11 
			 Homefirst HSS Trust 23 
			 Newry and Moume HSS Trust 2 
			 North and West Belfast HSS Trust 50 
			 South and East Belfast HSS Trust 78 
			 Sperrin Lakeland HSS Trust 5 
			 Ulster Community Hospitals HSS Trust 20 
		
	
	The average amount of money paid to foster carers for fee pay and the criteria for fee paying to foster carers in Northern Ireland is not centrally available.

Genitourinary Medicine

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase the number of hospital sites offering genitourinary medicine outpost clinics.

Angela Smith: The Department recently consulted on "A Five Year Sexual Health Promotion Strategy and Action Plan". Rather than increasing the number of hospital sites that currently offer genitourinary medicine services, the strategy recommended that a more holistic approach should be adopted. Many people wish to access the wide range of sexual health services in one setting, and for some this will be a community setting such as a GP surgery. The Department is currently considering the results of the consultation exercise and in October will host a major conference on sexually transmitted infections and sexual health services.

Health Service Projects

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the health service projects funded fully or partly by private finance initiatives.

Angela Smith: The following projects are fully funded by Private Finance Initiative:
	
		
			 Commissioning Body Project Title 
		
		
			 Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospital HSS Trust Car Parking 
			 Homefirst Community HSS Trust Holywell Hospital Energy Management System 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital HSS Trust Energy Management System 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust Renal Unit 
			 Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) Regional Clinical Waste Disposal Facilities 
			 United Hospitals HSS Trust Antrim Hospital Renal Unit 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospital HSS Trust and Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust Link Laboratories 
			 Various HSS Trusts/Boards All Equipment Leases 
			 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust Cancer Centre Equipment 
		
	
	The 'Equipment Leases' project consists of a variety of 46 leases. The major leases are:
	
		
			 Commissioning Body Lease 
		
		
			 Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospital HSS Trust Anaesthetics, Theatres and Intensive Care Services 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospital HSS Trust Fractures/Accident and Emergency Centralisation 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospital HSS Trust Redevelopment Scheme 
			 Causeway Hospital HSS Trust PACS X-Ray Equipment 
		
	
	There are no projects that have been partly funded by PFI.

Housing Executive

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties were sold in each of the past five years to tenants who were (a) in full receipt of housing benefit, (b) in partial receipt of housing benefit and (c) not in receipt of housing benefit.

John Spellar: Historical information is not readily available in the form requested. However, since the Northern Ireland Housing Executive began to collect this information in July 2003, the figures are as follows:
	Of a total of 4,752 house sales:
	1,823 applicants were in receipt of full housing benefit
	492 were in receipt of partial housing benefit
	2,437 were not in receipt of housing benefit.

Housing Executive

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties have been sold in each year since 1998 to joint tenancy of more than two joint tenants.

John Spellar: This information is not available.

Housing Executive

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Northern Ireland Housing Executive properties have been bought by their occupiers with a discount.

John Spellar: The information requested is not readily available. However, the Housing Executive estimates that approximately 97 per cent. of the 109,245 houses sold from the introduction of the house sales scheme in March 1981 would have been sold with a discount.

Housing Executive

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action will be taken to resolve the problem of waiting times for Housing Executive grant assessments.

John Spellar: Preliminary work has been undertaken on the 'Modernising the Private Sector Improvement Services' project, the main aim of which is to streamline the grants process and make the process easier for applicants. Detailed work is planned to start as soon as possible following the approval of the Housing Executive's overall Modernising Services Business Plan. This is expected to take place within the next few months and it is anticipated the Grants Project will be complete two years after that.
	In the meantime, work is continuing on streamlining procedures particularly in relation to Disabled Facilities Grants. In addition the Grants Service is engaged in a Charter Mark strategy with the aim of having all Grants Offices meeting the standard by early 2006. This follows the success of the Craigavon office in achieving a Charter Mark in 2003.

Housing Executive

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the weaknesses identified in the Auditor General's Report, NIA 41/03, HC 673 on the financial control and monitoring of grants paid to registered housing associations.

John Spellar: In summary, the Auditor General's report identified weaknesses relating mainly to certifications submitted by Housing Associations, procedural issues, supporting evidence, control and monitoring arrangements by both the Department and Housing Associations.
	The Report however also acknowledged the work that had been and was being done to address these issues.
	The Department for Social Development is continuing to implement the full range of measures agreed with the Auditor General.
	Full details of the Auditor General's findings are contained in his Report which was laid before Parliament in November last year and a copy of which is available in the Library.

MOT Certificates

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether cars registered in Northern Ireland but whose MOT vehicle test certificate has expired due to industrial action by Civil Servants in Northern Ireland will be exempt from prosecution whilst travelling in England; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA), which is responsible for vehicle testing, has been keeping in contact with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) regarding the legal obligations for motorists during the current period of industrial action.
	The PSNI has advised that it will not prosecute a motorist whose MOT certificate has expired provided they have evidence to show that they have maintained their vehicle in a roadworthy condition and have applied to the DVTA for a vehicle test. The PSNI remind motorists of the need to keep their vehicles in a roadworthy condition at all times and have indicated that they may prosecute in cases where this has not been done. However, all relevant circumstances will be taken into account before deciding whether to prosecute.
	Police forces throughout GB are being kept informed of the situation in NI, and it is expected that they will adopt a similar approach.
	A vehicle does not require a certificate when it is being driven to an MOT centre for a pre-arranged test.
	In the meantime the legislative process is now under way to provide temporary exemption for cars and motorcycles to allow these vehicles to be taxed and registered in Northern Ireland and to be driven legally anywhere in the United Kingdom. It is anticipated that certificates of temporary exemption, valid for up to six months, will be available from mid August 2004.

Museums and Heritage Review

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the recommendations contained in the Northern Ireland Museums and Heritage Review.

Angela Smith: Since the publication of the Joint Departmental Response to the Local Museum and Heritage Review there have been three liaison meetings between representatives of DCAL and EHS, as recommended in the Response. A Heritage Sub-Group of the Cultural Forum was formed in December 2003 to take forward the recommendations of the Review and there have been three meetings held to date. The Sub-Group is currently working its way through the recommendations and has agreed to hold a planning day, focusing on the priorities and outcomes required, in the autumn. In addition, work is ongoing to develop a comprehensive statistical picture of the sector.

Nexus Institute

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been provided to the Nexus Institute in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: A full and complete breakdown of all sources of funding (for example, funding from individual Health and Social Services Boards and Trusts and Education and Library Boards) over the period of 10 years, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has awarded the Nexus Institute recurrent core funding in the support of central administration costs over the last 10 years. This is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1994–95 34,556 
			 1995–96 50,668 
			 1996–97 52,000 
			 1997–98 52,304 
			 1998–99 55,794 
			 1999–2000 57,244 
			 2000–01 58,672 
			 2001–02 60,140 
			 2002–03 61,644 
			 2003–04 64,085 
		
	
	In addition, the organisation has been awarded several one off payments to assist in the purchase of office equipment, development of business plans and conference expenses etc. This amounts to £96,360.
	In April 2002 the Department awarded the Nexus Institute a further £104,718 over a three year period, towards a Double Trauma project assisting those affected by sexual abuse.
	The Northern Ireland Office began funding the Nexus Institute in August 2000 and the amounts of award are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2000–01 39,256 
			 2001–02 56,830 
			 2002–03 58,494 
			 2003–04 65,290

Sexual Abuse Victims

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the (a) availability of services for and (b) level of need of victims of sexual abuse in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: No such assessment has been completed to date in relation to services provided directly, or funded by, HSS boards and trusts. However, key preliminary research to inform the development of a regional strategy to address sexual abuse is now under way. This will include compiling baseline information on the current availability of services for victims and work on assessing the level of need. In co-operation with other Departments and agencies whose responsibilities also encompass matters relating to sexual abuse, it is the Department of Health, Social Service's and Public Safety's intention to develop and publish the draft strategy for consultation by late summer 2005. In terms of services provided by the PSNI, there are currently 11 Child Abuse and Rape Enquiry (CARE) units and four CARE suites. Each CARE unit is staffed by five to eight Detective Constables and one Detective Sergeant, with one Detective Inspector responsible for two to three CARE units.

Sexual Abuse Victims

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research he has collated on the percentage of those with mental illness who report having suffered sexual abuse.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not available.

Terrorism Victims

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money has been spent in each of the last five years on organisations to help the victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: There is no definitive list of organisations that help the victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland. Any organisation may help victims of terrorism as part of its own aims and objectives.
	The following table shows details of how much money has been spent by the 11 Northern Ireland Departments and Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years on organisations whose primary aim is to help the victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland.
	
		
			  Total (£) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 2,777,930 
			 2000–01 2,662,617 
			 2001–02 3,035,359 
			 2002–03 5,504,884 
			 2003–04(65) (65)5,691,585 
		
	
	(65) These figures are only provisional spending totals for the year, as final outturn figures for 2003–04 are not yet available.

Waiting Times

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate how many patients with trigeminal neuralgia are awaiting surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

Angela Smith: A total of seven patients with trigeminal neuralgia are currently waiting for surgery at the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast.

HEALTH

Anti-cancer Drugs

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the take up of new anti-cancer drugs authorised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence;
	(2)  what measures may be taken by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to encourage a more uniform use of anti-cancer drugs across the country.

Rosie Winterton: Last autumn, we asked Professor Mike Richards, the national cancer director, to report on the implementation of National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on drugs for cancer.
	Professor Richards' report was published on 14 June. It shows that NICE guidance has been effective in increasing the uptake of recommended new treatments and in reducing variations. Nevertheless, the report finds that there are still unacceptable variations in uptake. The reasons are complex but do not appear to be associated with restrictions in funding. A copy of the report is available in the Library.
	In parallel with the publication of this report, my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Warner) issued a statement setting out the responsibilities of the national health service in responding to guidance from NICE and a range of actions to support the NHS in these tasks. NICE can play a key part in promoting its guidance and in providing costing templates and other tools to help the NHS with implementation.

Bed Occupancy

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of extra hospital beds required to reduce bed occupancy rates to 85 per cent. of their current level in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to reduce bed occupancy in NHS hospitals.

Rosie Winterton: It is not possible to make an estimate of this kind at either a national or strategic health authority level. Bed occupancy depends not only on the number of beds provided, but on the level of demand for those beds and the way flow through beds is managed.
	Average or snap shot weekly bed occupancy is often not the critical factor for bed availability: rather it is the hourly levels of bed occupancy and the temporary mis-match between admissions and discharges that influence the ability of trusts to admit emergency patients without delay and avoid the cancellation of electives. Much bed capacity can be released through simply reducing the current, often substantial, temporary peaks and troughs in bed occupancy.
	Trusts have identified improving the way they use their bed capacity as a top priority and significant support is being delivered through the national programme to improve throughput in accident and emergency. Improved use of beds is critical to delivering this priority alongside the priorities on electives.

Branded Medicine Prices

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which country in Europe has the highest prices for branded medicines; and what the range of prices is.

Rosie Winterton: Each year, the Department publishes a comparison of branded medicine prices in the United Kingdom with a range of European countries and the United States. The latest published figures for 2002 show that the UK is the highest among these European comparator countries. The range of prices is shown in the table.
	
		Bilateral comparisons of ex-manufacturer prices
		
			 Country 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Five year(66)average 
		
		
			 France 85 84 80 81 81 81 
			 Germany 108 97 91 94 95 95 
			 Italy 81 83 79 82 86 86 
			 Netherlands n/a n/a 81 84 88 89 
			 Spain 71 67 64 67 75 75 
			 UK 100 100 100 100 100 100 
			 USA 174 184 209 217 201 204 
			 Austria 81 83 77 81 86 86 
			 Belgium 86 84 78 81 86 86 
			 Finland 86 85 83 84 88 89 
			 Ireland 90 88 83 88 93 93 
		
	
	(66) This is based on bilateral comparisons, i.e. the form and strength matches occurred between the UK and another country, using average annual exchange rates.

Dentistry

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in Morley and Rothwell constituency have taken commitment payments to devote more time to NHS dentistry.

Melanie Johnson: 18 general dental service (CDS) dentists in the Morley and Rothwell constituency received commitment payments in April 2004 for the quarter ending March 2004.
	Commitment payments are based on dentists' gross fees, together with a patient registration requirement for the higher payments and are based on previous years, so do not require additional time in the future to be devoted to national health service dentistry. Commitment payments will be increased, up to a maximum threshold, if a dentist takes on additional CDS work.

Departmental Accounting Practice

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the Finance Director of (a) the Department, (b) the NHS Appointments Commission and (c) the Food Standards Agency is; what accountancy qualifications each Director holds; and on how many occasions there has been a qualified opinion on (i) the resource accounts and (ii) other accounts of each in the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The finance directors/managers of the three bodies and their qualifications are:
	
		
			 Body Name and position Qualification 
		
		
			 Department of Health Mr. Richard Douglas (Finance Director) CIPFA 
			 National Health Service Appointments Commission Ms Lynn Shadford (Finance Manager) ICAEW 
			 Food Standards Agency Mr. Allan Hutton (Finance Director) CIMA, CIPFA 
		
	
	In the five year period starting 1999–2000, the Department has prepared resource accounts in each year. The resource accounts were qualified in 1999–2000 arising from limitation in audit scope.
	The Food Standards Agency has prepared three sets of resource accounts from 2000–01.
	Apart from the above qualified opinion on the Department's resource account, all accounts have been given a true and fair opinion by the comptroller and auditor general.
	The first summarised account of the NHS Appointments Commission was qualified in 2001–02 arising from limitation in audit scope. The 2002–03 account was unqualified.
	The audit opinions for 2003–04 will be available later in the year.

Departmental Contracts

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) number, (b) value and (c) purpose of contracts his Department holds with (i) A. T. Kearney, (ii) PricewaterhouseCoopers and (iii) Atos KPMG.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 28 June 2004
	The Department does not centrally hold a record of the number or the purpose of individual contracts. Only payments made are recorded.

Departmental Expenditure

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what departmental expenditure was on (a) mobile telephones, (b) hospitality and (c) taxis in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the latest accounting period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		£000
		
			  1996–97 2003–04 
		
		
			 Mobile telephones (67)33 222 
			 Taxis (68)— 403 
			 Hospitality 105 109 
		
	
	(67) This figure relates to national health service regional offices only. Mobile phone costs were not identified separately from other telecommunications expenditure in the rest of the Department.
	(68) Not available—taxi costs were not separately identified in 1996–97.

Departmental Legal Costs

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the Department of external legal advice was in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has a service level agreement with the legal division of the Department of Work and Pensions for the provision of legal services, including advice. The value of the agreement was £4.5 million in 2003–04. External legal services are used, often on commercial matters, but the specific costs of this advice cannot be dis-aggregated from the overall cost of consultancy services without incurring disproportionate costs.

Diabetes

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the numbers of (a) type 1 and (b) type 2 diabetics.

Rosie Winterton: An estimated 1.3 million people in England have diabetes. About 15 per cent. of these have type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects the UK Scrutiny Committee to report on the future provision of screening for type 2 diabetes;
	(2)  what evidence he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the number of individuals suffering from diabetes who have not yet been formally diagnosed.

Rosie Winterton: The United Kingdom national screening committee (NSC) is undertaking a development project on the feasibility and impact of screening patients at greatest risk of diabetes in disadvantaged areas, reaching high risk groups through primary care. The Department has also commissioned some additional research to look at the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the population.
	This work will inform the advice the NSC has been asked to give on the most effective policy for screening for type 2 diabetes. It will report to the Department in 2005.

Environmental Sustainability

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on (i) electricity use and (ii) water and sewerage services in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Costs for the principal buildings on the Department's London estate are as follows.
	
		Electricity
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 1997–98 615,007 
			 1998–99 614,783 
			 1999–2000 634,859 
			 2000–01 545,079 
			 2001–02 579,102 
			 2002–03 551,938 
			 2003–04 572,782 
		
	
	
		Water and Sewerage
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 1997–98 36,396 
			 1998–99 33,614 
			 1999–2000 32,607 
			 2000–01 32,224 
			 2001–02 29,009 
			 2002–03 34,684 
			 2003–04 29,372 
		
	
	London staff of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) occupy buildings that are rented and most of the utilities are included within the service charge. However, figures for electricity costs only are available for Hannibal House, which is shared between MHRA and Departmental staff. Expenditure is as follows.
	
		Electricity
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 1997–98 58,654 
			 1998–99 53,124 
			 1999–2000 48,124 
			 2000–01 49,219 
			 2001–02 53,689 
			 2002–03 50,382 
			 2003–04 57,855 
		
	
	Expenditure for the wheelchair evaluation centre at Blackpool, part of MHRA, is as follows. Figures are for electricity and gas combined.
	
		Electricity and Gas
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 1997–98 6,074 
			 1998–99 6,118 
			 1999–2000 4,835 
			 2000–01 5,029 
			 2001–02 6,522 
			 2002–03 5,275 
			 2003–04 6,009 
		
	
	
		Water and Sewerage
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,407 
			 1998–99 1,478 
			 1999–2000 1,527 
			 2000–01 1,754 
			 2001–02 2,013 
			 2002–03 1,922 
			 2003–04 1,466 
		
	
	The National Health Service Purchasing and Supplies Agency became an agency of the Department in April 2000. Figures for the years following are as follows.
	
		Electricity
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 2000–01 23,591 
			 2001–02 32,901 
			 2002–03 38,570 
			 2003–04 30,122 
		
	
	
		Water and Sewerage
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 2000–01 3,704 
			 2001–02 2,576 
			 2002–03 2,476 
			 2003–04 2,292 
		
	
	Figures for the NHS Pensions Agency are as follows.
	
		Electricity
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 1997–98 60,554 
			 1998–99 61,333 
			 1999–2000 55,326 
			 2000–01 50,678 
			 2001–02 52,919 
			 2002–03 46,787 
			 2003–04 56,309 
		
	
	
		Water and Sewerage
		
			 Year (£000s) 
		
		
			 1997–98 26,237 
			 1998–99 27,459 
			 1999–2000 30,675 
			 2000–01 13,542 
			 2001–02 23,026 
			 2002–03 24,218 
			 2003–04 27,003 
		
	
	The NHS Estates Agency (NHSE) occupies rented office space in Leeds city centre. NHSE is not billed separately for its energy and water; these are included in its service charge.

Instrument Sterilisation

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the contracts let or in the process of tendering for the provision of instrument sterilisation services to NHS trust hospitals giving the (a) location of each service, (b) the hospitals for which it will provide the service and (c) the dates of the period of contract; and what further contracts for similar services he intends to let in each of the next three years.

John Hutton: holding answer 16 July 2004
	Contracts for the provision of sterile services may arise as a result of an individual outsourcing procurement, as part of a large private finance initiative or public private partnership or where one national health service trust provides such services for others.
	Decisions on whether to let contracts and to whom are for individual NHS trusts to take, within the rules relating to such procurements and details are not held centrally.
	As part of their strategies for modernising sterile services, strategic health authorities are encouraging the setting up of joint ventures, which entails a number of NHS trusts pooling their demand, and advertising jointly for a private sector partner. Information about the joint ventures established so far is set out in the table. The details of these contracts have not yet been agreed.
	
		
			  Trusts Date of advertisement 
		
		
			 The Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust June 2003 
			   
			 Pan Birmingham Group  
			 University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust  
			 Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust  
			 Birmingham Women's Healthcare NHS Trust  
			 Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Trust November 2003 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust  
			 Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust  
			 Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull Hospitals NHS  
			 South Birmingham Primary Care Trust  
			 Kent Group  
			 The Medway NHS Trust  
			 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust November 2003 
			 East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust  
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust  
			   
			 South Manchester and North Cheshire Group  
			 South Manchester University Hospital Trust November 2003 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust  
			   
			 Thames Valley Group  
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust  
			 Heatherwood and Wexham Park NHS Trust November 2003 
			 Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Internet Drug Sales

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to prevent the advertising and selling of drugs via the internet that are only available in the UK with a general practitioner's prescription.

Rosie Winterton: The responsibility for regulating medicines on the United Kingdom market lies with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an executive agency of the Department. The MHRA takes the view that internet and mail order sale and supply of medicines is acceptable, provided the legislative requirements are met. There are perfectly legitimate internet-based dispensing pharmacies, where patients can sign their prescriptions and post them to the pharmacist to be filled. Medicines are then sent back to the patient by post. The law allows for this.
	The MHRA is also responsible for the enforcement of these requirements and any website brought to its attention for breaching regulations regarding advertising, sale and supply of medicines will be investigated. Such sites will be contacted, initially in order to seek compliance and although the MHRA has no powers to force closures of websites, it seeks to achieve compliance through internet service providers (ISPs), which are advised on UK law.
	The MHRA recognises that, in order to deal with the risks posed by the internet, it is impossible to act unilaterally. To this end, the MHRA's enforcement group works closely with other Government Departments and law enforcement authorities, both in the European Community and elsewhere, in an effort to address possible courses of action.

Less-invasive Technologies

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of less-invasive technologies in the NHS.

John Hutton: Many diseases and illnesses which have been routinely treated with surgical intervention are now being successfully managed or cured with less invasive forms of treatment. Last year the Department issued guidelines to the national health service governing the use of new interventional procedures. The guidelines are supported by the work of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).
	NICE is responsible for assessing the safety and efficacy of new technologies to protect the safety of patients. It also supports clinicians in the process of managing and introducing new procedures.

Myasthenia Gravis

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on support available for those suffering from myasthenia gravis; and what steps he is taking to raise awareness of myasthenia gravis among the medical profession.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 15 July 2004
	Patients with myasthenia gravis are able to access a range of national health service services. Although there is no cure for this condition, there are a number of treatments available to help control it. These include medication, surgery, and palliation.
	We have no specific plans to raise awareness of the condition among the medical profession. However, we are committed to improving services for patients with neurological diseases. The national service framework for long term conditions will focus on improving services for people with neurological conditions. While the framework will not cover myasthenia gravis specifically, it will recommend improvements in standards, care and support that will benefit everyone with a neurological condition.

Non NICE-appraised Treatments

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts in England do not fund non-National Institute for Clinical Excellence appraised products and treatments.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Non NICE-appraised Treatments

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what grounds primary care trusts may refuse to fund non-National Institute for Clinical Excellence appraised products if a clinician wishes to prescribe them.

Rosie Winterton: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine what criteria they use in deciding whether to fund a treatment or therapy which has not been appraised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. However, we would expect PCTs to consider the available evidence on clinical and cost effectiveness of treatments.

Critical Care Networks (Transfers)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2004, Official Report, column 580W, on critical care networks (transfers), for what reasons patients are transferred between hospitals for non-clinical reasons; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Critical care transfers between hospitals occur for non-clinical reasons where critical care beds or other necessary resources are not immediately available. There are 29 critical care networks that work with commissioners and providers to assess the needs of the critically ill, plan services to meet those needs, agree standards and monitor the delivery of critical care. It is their role to ensure transfers for non-clinical reasons occur only within the network and only occur following consultant-to-consultant discussion and agreement.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what negotiations have been held with the pharmaceutical industry following the consultation on the future of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme; and when they will be completed.

Rosie Winterton: Following consultation on the future of the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS), the Department started confidential bilateral negotiations with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on new arrangements. These negotiations started in February 2004 and are continuing. It remains the Government's preference to include another voluntary PPRS agreement with the research-based pharmaceutical industry and to do this as speedily as possible commensurate with a satisfactory outcome for the taxpayer and the national health service.

Prescription Medicines Prices

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to ensure that the prices paid in the UK for branded prescription medicines are comparable with those in other countries in Europe; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department, on behalf of the United Kingdom Government, is currently negotiating with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) on a new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. It is seeking to negotiate another voluntary agreement that delivers prices that represent value for money for the taxpayer and the national health service as well as reasonable returns for the research-based pharmaceutical industry.

Restraint Procedures

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what restraint procedures are allowed to be used within a psychiatric hospital when a patient becomes violent or aggressive to ensure that the patient or members of staff are not physically injured; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Guidance on the use of restraint, for those detained under section of the Mental Health Act 1983, is laid out in the Mental Health Act Code of Practice.
	Section 19.12 of the Code of Practice states that:
	"Any restraint used should:
	be reasonable in the circumstance;
	apply the minimum force necessary to prevent harm to the patient or others;
	be used for only as long as is necessary;
	be sensitive to gender and race issues."
	Trusts should regularly audit their control and restraint procedures consistent with the framework of clinical governance.
	The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently carrying out its final consultation on its guidance, "Disturbed (violent) behaviour: the short-term management of disturbed (violent) behaviour in in-patient psychiatric settings", which is scheduled for publication later in the year.
	In February this year, "Developing Positive Practice to Support the Safe and Therapeutic Management of Aggression and Violence in Mental Health In-patient Settings" was issued to assist services by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) programme on the management of violence.
	The NIMHE programme is also developing a scheme for regulation and accreditation for trainers and training in the prevention and management of aggression and violence in mental health services.

Salary and Recruitment Costs

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) the cost of recruitment and (b) the total cumulative salary bill are for the (i) national cancer director, (ii) national director for heart disease, (iii) chairman of the better hospital food panel, (iv) national director of mental health, (v) national director for older people's services and (vi) alliance development manager at the tobacco policy unit.

Rosie Winterton: The four national clinical directors are each employed on a national health service consultant contract and the Department reimburses the costs of their time. The alliance development manager, which has been renamed regional liaison manager, is a secondment from the voluntary sector.
	Because these posts were filled through secondment arrangements as permitted by the Civil Service Commissioners, there were no recruitment costs incurred in these appointments.
	The chairman of the better hospital food panel receives no remuneration and there were no recruitment costs associated with his appointment.

TNF Blockade

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from consultant rheumatologists regarding the prescribing of TNF blockade; whether the obligation to fund it includes funding the nursing and administrative infrastructure necessary to facilitate and enable funding the administration of the drug; what guidance he has issued to primary care trusts and acute trusts; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: We are not aware of having received any representations from consultant rheumatologists on this subject. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) reported on these drugs in 2002, so we would expect that any representations would have been received by them. There has, however, been correspondence from hon. and right hon. Members and the public, as well as several parliamentary questions, on anti-TNF therapy.
	National health service bodies are under a statutory obligation to fund treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisals. We expect primary care trusts (PCTs) to meet their statutory obligations, and strategic health authorities to follow up any allegations of non-compliance.
	The NHS has three months from the date of publication of guidance on technology appraisals to provide funding, so that clinical decisions made by doctors involving NICE recommended treatments or drugs can be funded. We last reminded PCTs of these obligations in guidance published in January 2003.
	The Department has not issued guidelines on the dispensing of anti-TNF drugs. NICE issued guidance on these drugs in March 2002. They recommended that consultant rheumatologists, or consultant paediatric rheumatologists in the case of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, should prescribe these drugs, in accordance with the guidelines set out by the British Society for Rheumatology or British Paediatric Rheumatology Group.

Wiltshire Ambulance Trust

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the criteria are for the Wiltshire Project for evaluation of the Wiltshire Ambulance Trust.

Rosie Winterton: In April 2004 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA), in partnership with Wiltshire Ambulance National Health Service Trust, embarked on a project to consider how emergency services could be better shaped to meet the demands of the future.
	The criteria for the project are a matter for the SHA and trust.